Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Reduces Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,722 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 5,663 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.7% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $1,173,564,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,527 shares of company stock worth $14,882,976. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $352.62.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $291.53. 1,484,260 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,852,611. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's fifty day moving average is $267.83 and its 200 day moving average is $307.08. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $280.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.