Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Acquires 50 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 2.2% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $26,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $297.63 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $329.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.21. The stock has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Company 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.