Independence Bank of Kentucky Has $4.16 Million Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Independence Bank of Kentucky cut its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,439 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $341.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $338.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.37. The company has a market capitalization of $327.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.22, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.