Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Reduces Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG decreased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 16.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 197,475 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 39,678 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.3% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $54,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 44.5% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 815 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 39,088 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,773,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 5.2% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,147 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 200.6% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 932 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $288.24 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $268.12 and its 200 day moving average is $263.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $279.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total value of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $977,122.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,502 shares of company stock valued at $23,045,186 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Nine equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.66.

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.