Trust Co. of Vermont Grows Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,008 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,433 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after acquiring an additional 994,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,331,000 after acquiring an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $4.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $324.77. The stock had a trading volume of 6,283,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,604,853. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $337.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.08.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158 over the last 90 days. Company 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.