Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by American National Bank & Trust

American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,810 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Westpark Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $265.03 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.30. The company has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.77 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

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.