Savvy Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 50.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,797 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. TD Cowen raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $360.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $2.91 during trading on Thursday, reaching $246.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,564,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,762,078. The firm has a market cap of $237.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $284.38 and a 200-day moving average of $309.74.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at $40,361,054.76. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,654 shares of company stock worth $14,124,094. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.