Lone Pine Capital LLC Sells 772,637 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lone Pine Capital LLC lowered its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 33.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,565,193 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 772,637 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 3.9% of Lone Pine Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Lone Pine Capital LLC owned about 0.16% of Salesforce worth $523,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nvest Financial LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $350.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,051 shares of company stock valued at $15,027,714. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $0.46 on Thursday, hitting $269.17. 5,204,423 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,806,085. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $270.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.83. 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 company has a market cap of $258.78 billion, a PE ratio of 44.27, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 26.10%.

Salesforce Company 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.