O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 13,827 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,680 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,827 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $39,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. State Street Corp raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.74.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $270.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a PE ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of Salesforce 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,361,054.76. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last three months. Company 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.