J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 6,095 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,340 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,095 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $3,599,867,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% in the 4th 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. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Salesforce by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,593,295 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,204,336,000 after acquiring an additional 628,593 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 5.5 %

Shares of CRM stock traded up $13.81 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $264.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,846,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,797,031. 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 market capitalization of $253.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $276.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.58. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. 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 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $355.19.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $248,333.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,645,492.42. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,051 shares of company stock valued at $15,027,714. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce 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.