CNB Bank Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

CNB Bank lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,511 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. CNB Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,509,345 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,091,832,000 after purchasing an additional 391,648 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,003,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,519,719,000 after purchasing an additional 149,012 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,270,144,000 after purchasing an additional 121,436 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,074,350.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,848.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 628,184 shares of company stock worth $184,794,698 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $1.55 on Friday, hitting $270.37. 4,913,553 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,856,009. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.57 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $297.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.87.

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.