Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 863,839 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 19,500 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 0.5% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.09% of Salesforce worth $288,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,321,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Salesforce by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,288,803 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $766,566,000 after purchasing an additional 243,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 15,708 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,051 shares of company stock valued at $15,027,714. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CRM traded up $3.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $267.87. The stock had a trading volume of 5,649,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,811,847. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $257.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.06, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $274.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.44.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $351.37.

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.