Payden & Rygel Has $5.85 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Payden & Rygel boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 272.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,500 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,800 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of CRM opened at $240.26 on Friday. 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 $230.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $302.46 and its 200-day moving average is $311.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.42.

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.