Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 353,283 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $118,113,000. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.4% of Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded down $1.89 on Friday, reaching $265.03. 12,373,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,790,605. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.06 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $267.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $304.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $343.32.

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.