Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 1,063 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,297 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Salesforce by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,593,295 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,204,336,000 after buying an additional 628,593 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company's 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 $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded down $14.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $240.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,689,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,684,703. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $302.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $230.89 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors 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 an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 26.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $361.42.

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.