Fulton Bank N.A. Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,541 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank grew its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.1 %

CRM traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $325.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,597,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,176,992. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $334.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.99. 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 $311.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.