North Star Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,117 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,205 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded down $10.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $273.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,878,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,919,491. The stock has a market cap of $262.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.91, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.55. 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 twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director Robin L. Washington bought 1,695 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,011 shares of company stock valued at $13,038,373. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $335.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens began coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $351.59.

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.