Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Trimmed by ValueAct Holdings L.P.

ValueAct Holdings L.P. lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,898,509 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,015,800 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 22.1% of ValueAct Holdings L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. ValueAct Holdings L.P. owned about 0.30% of Salesforce worth $969,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $287.03 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $275.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The business's fifty day moving average is $268.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $307.16. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,306 shares of company stock valued at $12,841,368. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $352.62.

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.

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