880 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Purchased by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 880 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 95.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,624,520 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $462,063,000 after buying an additional 794,506 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northland Securities reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.1 %

Salesforce stock traded down $10.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $343.17. 3,118,344 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,085,889. The company's 50-day moving average is $338.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $328.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.44, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Salesforce

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.