Atria Investments Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,528 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 9,549 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Salesforce were worth $29,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $15,885,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robin L. Washington acquired 1,695 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $294.61 per share, with a total value of $499,363.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,799,331.45. The trade was a 4.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.6 %

CRM traded up $4.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $292.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,608,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,871,845. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50-day moving average is $325.91 and its 200-day moving average is $308.21. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.16%.

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.