Advisory Services Network LLC Increases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,947 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $16,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the purchase, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $244.16 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 has a market cap of $234.63 billion, a PE ratio of 40.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $300.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.65.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp raised shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research 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 assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.42.

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.