Trust Co. of Vermont Acquires 6,433 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,008 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 6,433 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $757,632,000 after acquiring an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after acquiring an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CRM shares. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $4.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $324.77. The company had a trading volume of 6,283,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,604,853. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.56.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.