City State Bank Increases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

City State Bank raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,513 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. City State Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Athena Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $2,861,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,146,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 60,521 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $21,785,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $274.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $227.77 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $266.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.58. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Salesforce from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $275.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $325.00 target price for the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.34.

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.