First County Bank CT Lowers Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

First County Bank CT lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,282 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 407 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $275.67 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $263.54 billion, a PE ratio of 49.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.73.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.75, for a total transaction of $1,061,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,494,155.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,015 shares of company stock valued at $16,174,717 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.