19,400 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Purchased by Atika Capital Management LLC

Atika Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,400 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,486,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $242.95. 2,816,997 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,722,685. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $295.86 and its 200-day moving average is $311.01. The stock has a market cap of $233.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.91, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.