Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Buys New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,448 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,828,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $5.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $275.21. 4,323,233 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,820,139. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.26, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $269.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.58.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,805,936.08. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,051 shares of company stock worth $15,027,714 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, April 25th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $350.56.

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.