Invesco Ltd. Buys 2,325,156 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.5% of Invesco Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.81% of Salesforce worth $2,604,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 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 $167,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % 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, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $1,120,391.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,570,312.44. The trade was a 41.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, 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.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $10.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $254.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,934,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,768,741. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $292.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $244.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $361.42.

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.