Bank of Nova Scotia Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 895,128 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 199,938 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.09% of Salesforce worth $299,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $254.98. 6,087,156 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,812,000. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $245.04 billion, a PE ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $289.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.46.

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. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $361.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Oscar Munoz bought 3,882 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $257.28 per share, for a total transaction of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.