Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Trust Co of Kansas

Trust Co of Kansas grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,014 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 3.1% of Trust Co of Kansas’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Trust Co of Kansas’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,270,144,000 after buying an additional 121,436 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,251,891 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,064,978,000 after purchasing an additional 19,888 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Salesforce by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,678,330 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $948,676,000 after purchasing an additional 309,881 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,198,494 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $648,591,000 after buying an additional 444,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.62, for a total value of $4,179,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,701,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,817,418,870.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total value of $2,188,439.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,903,561.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.62, for a total value of $4,179,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,701,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,817,418,870.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 596,379 shares of company stock valued at $175,587,970 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $2.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $276.25. 5,173,576 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,704,005. The company has a market cap of $267.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.57 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. 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 50-day simple moving average of $297.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.79.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

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.