Kentucky Trust Co Decreases Stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kentucky Trust Co lessened its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,315 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.2% of Kentucky Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Kentucky Trust Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,143,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its position in Salesforce by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,924 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,082 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 125,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,614,048.68. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $1,120,391.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,312.44. This represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.4%

CRM stock opened at $258.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.23. The company has a market capitalization of $247.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.53, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

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.