Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Ancora Advisors LLC

Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,203 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in 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 raised 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 acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $350.56.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

CRM stock traded up $4.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $282.43. 1,503,020 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,806,717. 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 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.53 billion, a PE ratio of 46.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The business's 50 day moving average price is $267.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.23.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This represents a 4.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,830 shares of company stock valued at $12,907,361. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.