Argent Trust Co Acquires 2,589 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $247.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

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.