Norway Savings Bank Buys 438 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Norway Savings Bank grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,344 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after acquiring an additional 752,566 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,762,331,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $257.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $276.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 7.19%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,193,087.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 547,387 shares of company stock worth $151,174,635 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Macquarie reduced their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

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.