Insight Holdings Group LLC Purchases New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Insight Holdings Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 49,500 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,549,000. Salesforce accounts for 1.1% of Insight Holdings Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.2% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 17,003 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 7,332 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,007,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,047 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,930,000 after buying an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 570.4% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,446 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $14,903,000 after buying an additional 46,324 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

CRM traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $268.46. 4,610,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,812,489. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $258.09 billion, a PE ratio of 44.15, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $271.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.10. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. One 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $248,333.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,645,492.42. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $386,831.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. This represents a 11.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,051 shares of company stock worth $15,027,714 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.