Capital Advantage Inc. Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Capital Advantage Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,038 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $681,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Financial LLC grew its position in 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 grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,220,525. The trade was a 4.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,830 shares of company stock valued at $12,907,361 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer dropped 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. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $350.56.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded down $4.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $275.38. 4,322,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,823,696. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $267.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $307.15. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

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.