Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Eastern Bank

Key Points

• Eastern Bank reduced its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 5.2%, selling 3,398 shares and bringing their total holdings to 62,387 shares valued at approximately $16.7 million.
• Salesforce's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $348.16, while various analysts have suggested differing ratings based on recent performance.
• Company CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares at an average price of $269.11, resulting in a total transaction of over $605,000 and a slight decrease in his ownership stake.

Eastern Bank lowered its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,387 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,398 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank's holdings in Salesforce were worth $16,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,180 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 192.9% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,951 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 206.9% in the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 17,354 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,802,000 after acquiring an additional 11,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of CRM traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $264.74. The company had a trading volume of 3,913,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,561,630. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $266.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.11, for a total transaction of $605,497.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,205,522,871.81. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 37,979 shares of company stock valued at $10,303,399 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

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.