Community Trust & Investment Co. Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.8% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $29,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after purchasing an additional 877,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,575,904. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total transaction of $1,213,044.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,229,213.48. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $323.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.41 billion, a PE ratio of 53.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $336.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.