Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,304 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.8% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $21,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% in 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 buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd increased its position in Salesforce by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $24,387,000 after buying an additional 10,656 shares in the last quarter. XN LP raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after buying an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 27.5% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after buying an additional 2,589 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. FBN Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.51.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CRM traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $323.61. The stock had a trading volume of 312,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,292,435. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.61. The firm has a market cap of $309.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. 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 fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.