M&T Bank Corp Acquires 10,084 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 193,314 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,084 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $52,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total value of $249,422.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,380,136.92. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,189,056 shares of company stock valued at $405,093,170 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of CRM opened at $343.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $323.14 and its 200-day moving average is $279.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.87 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.