WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $23.17 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lowered its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,291 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 861 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.8% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $23,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after purchasing an additional 96,381 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.3 %

CRM stock opened at $325.49 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $311.49 billion, a PE ratio of 53.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $337.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,705,195. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.