Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 130 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,014 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in 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. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Securities raised Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.66.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4 %

CRM stock opened at $284.37 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.24. The stock has a market cap of $275.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total transaction of $1,080,576.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,251,239.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total transaction of $1,080,576.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,251,239.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,812 shares of company stock valued at $23,418,916 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.