Northern Trust Corp Acquires 1,736,667 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.5% of Northern Trust Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.17% of Salesforce worth $3,752,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Insight Holdings Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,549,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Whalerock Point Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 16,982 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,678,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,665 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,897,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 2,320 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $351.37.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $267.87 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $273.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $308.54. The company has a market cap of $257.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,705,195. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,645,492.42. This trade represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,051 shares of company stock valued at $15,027,714. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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