Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 944 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,682 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 944 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value 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 $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,104,699 shares of company stock valued at $382,108,847 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7 %

CRM opened at $339.28 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $338.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.99. The firm has a market cap of $324.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.