Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 50,000 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.4% of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Salesforce were worth $50,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This trade represents a 48.76 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.42.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $246.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,495,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,958,328. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $295.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.01. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $236.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

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.