Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Sells 14,095 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lessened its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 18.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 64,259 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 14,095 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.5% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $17,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,220,525. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $264.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $252.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.51, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.77 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $266.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.58. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens reduced their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Company 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.