AdvisorShares Investments LLC Takes $490,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,465 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $386,831.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,097,442.26. The trade was a 11.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 4,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $1,163,284.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,440,029.18. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,051 shares of company stock worth $15,027,714 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $267.79 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $271.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.10.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $351.37.

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.

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