Renaissance Group LLC Has $37.75 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Renaissance Group LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,898 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 7,331 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.6% of Renaissance Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Renaissance Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $37,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during 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 buying an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Munoz acquired 3,882 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.28 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 48.76 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note 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 given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $361.42.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $0.14 on Friday, hitting $254.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,087,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,812,000. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $289.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $310.46. The firm has a market cap of $245.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

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.