Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Purchases 50 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 2.2% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $26,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $297.63 on Friday. 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 cap of $284.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $329.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.21. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Corporate 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.