Commerce Bank Reduces Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Commerce Bank decreased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 247,047 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,102 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $67,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after buying an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 376.1% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,873,000 after buying an additional 1,139,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $323.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $348.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $289.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.31. The company has a market cap of $309.07 billion, a PE ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

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 44.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,173 shares of company stock valued at $40,146,206 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.36.

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.