West Coast Financial LLC Acquires New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

West Coast Financial LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,719 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,145,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after buying an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.7%

Salesforce stock traded up $7.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $274.48. 7,500,949 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,591,171. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.77 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $266.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,219,490. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is currently 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.