Berkshire Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Berkshire Bank lowered its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,957 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,111 shares of company stock valued at $9,299,283 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Northland Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.34.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $263.63 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $268.49 and a 200-day moving average of $299.25. The firm has a market cap of $252.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.77 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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 company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

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.