Banco Santander S.A. Sells 24,935 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 161,677 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 24,935 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.5% of Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $44,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.19.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $331.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $317.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.64, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $348.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total value of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $977,122.20. This represents a 44.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total transaction of $884,081.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,622.79. This trade represents a 2.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,117 shares of company stock valued at $39,085,562 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.