Ashburton Jersey Ltd Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,214 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,000. Salesforce comprises 1.8% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in 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. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.42.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $302.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.39. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $230.89 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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