Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Invests $425,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,270 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robin L. Washington acquired 1,695 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,799,331.45. This trade represents a 4.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $2.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $275.07. The stock had a trading volume of 12,346,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,957,942. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.24, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Salesforce Company 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.