Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,938 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 463.1% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Pointe Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 370.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 72.3% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 29,481 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,978,000 after purchasing an additional 12,371 shares during the period. Finally, BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $341,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded Salesforce from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.32.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total transaction of $1,287,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 105,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,439,040.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 12,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.94, for a total value of $3,245,250.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,062,156.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total transaction of $1,287,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 105,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,439,040.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 898,507 shares of company stock worth $255,293,063. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $300.29. 2,337,208 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,720,507. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.31 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $293.59 and a 200 day moving average of $251.75.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

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.