Heritage Trust Co Buys 1,269 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Heritage Trust Co increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 19.2%, owning a total of 7,876 shares worth approximately $2.1 million.
• Salesforce's stock has received various ratings from analysts, with a consensus price target of $348.16 and a rating of "Moderate Buy".
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce, amounting to nearly $600,000, reducing his ownership slightly while still holding over 11.9 million shares.

Heritage Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 19.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,876 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Heritage Trust Co's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Notis McConarty Edward boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $95,222,000 after purchasing an additional 195,000 shares in the last quarter. Delaney Dennis R lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 66.1% in the 1st quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 5,694 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,948 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mathes Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 396.9% in the 1st quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,823 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $252.21. 4,399,864 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,950,044. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $241.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37. The business's fifty day moving average price is $266.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.65.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.94, for a total value of $566,865.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,001,001,197.74. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 41,979 shares of company stock valued at $11,330,746 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Mizuho cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.