Pitcairn Co. Boosts Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,905 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $272.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $261.45 billion, a PE ratio of 44.75, 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.50. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.42.

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.