Whittier Trust Co. Increases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,057 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $29,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 127.3% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 150 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $109,000. Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth about $8,557,000. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 12,255 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,691,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $295,425.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,257,813.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,575 shares of company stock worth $20,923,258 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded down $2.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $290.83. 1,554,551 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,390,354. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $281.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous 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. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

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.