Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 844 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $182,000. United Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 838 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 91.1% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 29,128 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,973,000 after buying an additional 13,882 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,410 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $537,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $292.05 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $279.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $325.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.21. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

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.