Cetera Trust Company N.A Cuts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cetera Trust Company N.A cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,591 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 415 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.6% of Cetera Trust Company N.A’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $8,557,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth about $230,000. Fermata Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth about $418,000. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Exchange Bank bought a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $229,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total transaction of $245,767.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total value of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total transaction of $245,767.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 76,110 shares of company stock worth $20,292,760. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $3.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $288.00. 1,153,098 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,370,355. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.18. The company has a market capitalization of $279.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

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, beating 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler cut Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

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.