Argent Trust Co Has $6.39 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 170,106 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $43,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Lingotto Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $3,342,000. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% during the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 830 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 35.7% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 54,153 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,923,000 after purchasing an additional 14,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $247.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

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.