Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Boosts Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 156,110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 1.0% of Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $48,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,342,415. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of CRM opened at $309.54 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $333.34 and its 200 day moving average is $305.25. The company has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim lowered Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

About Salesforce

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.