Webster Bank N. A. Sells 338 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Webster Bank N. A. reduced its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,653 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $564,188,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Salesforce by 110.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,394,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $893,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,421 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit bought 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $912,699,429.53. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 547,387 shares of company stock valued at $151,174,635 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $4.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $257.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,619,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,223,949. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $249.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.24, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.20.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. KeyCorp started coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie cut their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

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.