Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Nicholas Investment Partners LP

Nicholas Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 846.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,031 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,288 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $352.62.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $291.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,837,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,888,685. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $268.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,527 shares of company stock valued at $14,882,976 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.