Community Trust & Investment Co. Cuts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Community Trust & Investment Co. trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,921 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 563 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,509,345 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,091,832,000 after buying an additional 391,648 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,357,722 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,263,546,000 after acquiring an additional 695,355 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,003,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,519,719,000 after purchasing an additional 149,012 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.9% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,749,285 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,536,910,000 after purchasing an additional 332,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,134,170 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,823,724,000 after acquiring an additional 2,481,759 shares in the last quarter. 77.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 946 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.63, for a total transaction of $198,309.98. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 101,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,222,102.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.63, for a total value of $198,309.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 101,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,222,102.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.05, for a total value of $36,908.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,861.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 633,071 shares of company stock valued at $138,539,253. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. HSBC initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $267.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Salesforce from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.59.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $2.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $212.81. 827,427 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,985,916. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.34 and a 12 month high of $238.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $218.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.68.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The CRM provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 4.77%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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 relationship intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer service and support at scale.