Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Purchases 2,056 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,044 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $228,000. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 5,342 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $68,473.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total value of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,112,033,829.80. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,569 shares of company stock worth $8,533,528 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $257.84. The stock had a trading volume of 5,646,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,554,540. The company has a 50-day moving average of $271.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $246.49 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

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.