Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,566 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,355 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $24,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Salesforce by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,593,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,204,336,000 after purchasing an additional 628,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,028,164,000 after buying an additional 153,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 5.9 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $240.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $230.89 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $302.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.00. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report 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 issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.42.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.28 per share, for a total transaction of $998,760.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at $3,046,967.04. This trade represents a 48.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.