Independence Bank of Kentucky Sells 418 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,646 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 418 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 1.1% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. KRS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $303,000. Norway Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.5% in the first quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 8,344 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Asio Capital LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 4.3% during the first quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 16,731 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,046,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit bought 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at $912,699,429.53. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 547,387 shares of company stock worth $151,174,635 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CRM. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE CRM traded up $4.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $257.10. 12,619,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,223,949. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $249.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.19%.

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.