Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 28,694 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 640,162 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 28,694 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Salesforce worth $214,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $350.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, 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 sold 45,830 shares of company stock valued at $12,907,361 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $289.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,708,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,859,158. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $267.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.23. 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 capitalization of $278.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.56, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

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 $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.10%.

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.