Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 1,715 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,722 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $1,173,564,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Salesforce by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and issued a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $360.76.

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Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $256.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,933,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,027,584. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $287.42 and a 200-day moving average of $310.55. The company has a market capitalization of $246.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders 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 represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. 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 available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Company 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.