Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 23,023 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 399,503 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 23,023 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Salesforce were worth $133,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $236,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,384 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 1,334 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group set a $350.00 target price on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stephens began coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One equities 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, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $351.15.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.5%

CRM stock traded up $4.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $277.36. The company had a trading volume of 5,412,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,674,088. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.20. The company has a market capitalization of $266.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.63, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase 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 was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director Robin L. Washington bought 1,695 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $12,799,331.45. The trade was a 4.06% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.