UMB Bank n.a. Has $29.27 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

UMB Bank n.a. trimmed its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,532 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 879 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $29,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $733,805,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after acquiring an additional 994,670 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,331,000 after acquiring an additional 877,495 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $324.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $337.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.80. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.