Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 113.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 410,057 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 217,689 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $137,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 7,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Salesforce by 89.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 1,710 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 52,069 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $14,252,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 6,925 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after buying an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Timber Creek Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.2% during the third quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 17,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.74.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $270.04 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $309.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.