J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 6,095 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,340 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,095 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Invst LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.2% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 17,003 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 7,332 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,007,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 14.0% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,047 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 570.4% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,446 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $14,903,000 after purchasing an additional 46,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $246.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $281.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.80. The company has a market cap of $237.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,654 shares of company stock worth $14,124,094. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.32.

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.