Aquatic Capital Management LLC Acquires 56,065 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 73.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,465 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 56,065 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 1.2% of Aquatic Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $44,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Salesforce by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after buying an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Salesforce by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $3.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $267.87. 5,649,322 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,824,128. The stock has a market cap of $257.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $273.75 and a 200 day moving average of $308.54. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CRM. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $351.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $1,120,391.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,570,312.44. This trade represents a 41.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,758.58. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,051 shares of company stock worth $15,027,714 over the last three months. Corporate 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.