Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Takes $61.38 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 183,602 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $61,384,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $931,430.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. The trade was a 2.55 % 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $265.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,117,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,792,431. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $255.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $271.56 and a 200-day moving average of $308.10.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.