Commerce Bank Purchases 12,934 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 4.9%, acquiring a total of 274,387 shares worth $73.6 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Salesforce reported earnings of $2.58 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 7.6% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company's current market capitalization stands at $247.19 billion, with institutional investors holding around 80.43% of its stock.

Commerce Bank raised its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,387 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 12,934 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Salesforce were worth $73,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded down $7.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $250.85. The company had a trading volume of 7,643,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,567,701. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $266.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.19. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $239.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.77, for a total transaction of $597,982.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,165,738,224.67. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,729 shares of company stock worth $10,763,881. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

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.