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

CNB Bank raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,400 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. CNB Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Cedrus LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.1% in the third quarter. Cedrus LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Means Investment CO. Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 41,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 158.0% in the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 109.5% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,201 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.5% during the third quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at $376,624.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,624.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,429,961 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $292.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $266.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.49. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.86 billion, a PE ratio of 52.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

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.