BankPlus Trust Department Takes $2.26 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,772 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,264,000. Salesforce accounts for 0.7% of BankPlus Trust Department’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,342,415. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,202,758.58. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,102,114 shares of company stock worth $381,142,656. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. DA Davidson upped their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $309.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $333.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $306.18. 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 results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.