Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,091 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,519 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its position in Salesforce by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 5,482 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 2,409 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Pictet North America Advisors SA lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 9,949 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,326,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $325.49 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $311.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.53, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $337.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.33.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.