Keybank National Association OH Increases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,299 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH's holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $7,926,000 after acquiring an additional 22,797 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,028,164,000 after purchasing an additional 153,500 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 125,570 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $41,982,000 after purchasing an additional 4,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,354,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $4.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $292.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,608,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,871,845. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $325.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $365.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,071,750. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.