Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Purchases 7,225 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 85.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,225 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.7% of Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Modus Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 14,406 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,817,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,441 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors increased its stake in Salesforce by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 868 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 7.3% in the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $332.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,973,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,348,532. The company has a market capitalization of $317.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $331.96 and a 200-day moving average of $285.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during 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%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total transaction of $1,211,364.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,181,807.88. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock worth $405,971,793. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce 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.