Ethic Inc. Acquires 15,921 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,504 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 15,921 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 0.7% of Ethic Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $33,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,830 shares of company stock worth $12,907,361 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $289.38. 3,625,496 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,832,147. The company's 50 day moving average price is $267.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $307.35. 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 $278.21 billion, a PE ratio of 47.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current 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 was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.