Hancock Whitney Corp Increases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,807 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $339.12 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $296.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.66.

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.