Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Boosted by Busey Bank

Busey Bank increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,610 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,463 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after acquiring an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.6 %

Salesforce stock traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $259.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,751,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,554,004. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.49 billion, a PE ratio of 46.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.73, for a total transaction of $4,075,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,452,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,670,815.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.73, for a total transaction of $4,075,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,452,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,383,670,815.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 150,974 shares of company stock valued at $37,516,870. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Salesforce from $288.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.50.

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.