Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 307,160 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,744,810 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 307,160 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.18% of Salesforce worth $583,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,173,564,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 56,872.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $311,998,000 after purchasing an additional 931,566 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $361.42.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at $35,614,048.68. This represents a 2.55 % 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 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $1.82 on Tuesday, reaching $270.18. 4,596,911 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,653,506. The firm has a market cap of $259.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.67. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week 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.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

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.