Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Private Trust Co. NA

Private Trust Co. NA decreased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,696 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XN LP increased its stake in Salesforce by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,991 shares of company stock valued at $43,333,238 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush upped their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $337.80.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $343.42. 1,144,933 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,277,191. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $328.31 billion, a PE ratio of 59.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $294.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.53.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.83%.

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.