Wesbanco Bank Inc. Acquires 662 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,410 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 662 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 1.1% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $32,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 217,341 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $72,664,000 after purchasing an additional 16,847 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 250,845 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $83,964,000 after acquiring an additional 4,654 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,020 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $332.67 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $336.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.92. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $318.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.72, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,171,198 shares of company stock worth $401,945,558. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.