Heartland Bank & Trust Co Grows Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 117.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.8% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Heartland Bank & Trust Co's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,082 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

CRM opened at $260.79 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $268.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $249.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $349.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $1,120,391.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,570,312.44. This represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Company 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.

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