Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Increased by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,245,383 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,498 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $416,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Nvest Financial LLC increased 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 valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,758.58. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,654 shares of company stock valued at $14,124,094 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $246.93 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $281.23 and a 200 day moving average of $309.80. The company has a market capitalization 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 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

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.