Webster Bank N. A. Decreases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Webster Bank N. A. lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,653 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. KRS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $303,000. Norway Savings Bank lifted its stake in Salesforce by 5.5% during the first quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 8,344 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, Asio Capital LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 4.3% during the first quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 16,731 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,046,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of CRM stock traded up $4.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $257.10. The company had a trading volume of 12,619,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,223,949. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $249.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.20.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,981,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,964,707,719.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,981,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,964,707,719.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 547,387 shares of company stock valued at $151,174,635 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.