Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,270 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 11,511 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $362,000. United Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 16,187 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,412,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $349.87.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.4%

Salesforce stock traded up $3.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $276.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,944,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,935,640. The company has a market capitalization of $266.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $268.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their position. The sale 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 dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.