Truist Financial Corp Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 422,598 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,160 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $141,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.3 %

CRM stock opened at $325.49 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $311.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.53, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $336.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $303.42.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Company 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.