Strs Ohio Has $105.94 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Strs Ohio reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 402,585 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 10,787 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Salesforce were worth $105,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.42, for a total value of $4,491,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,958,721 shares in the company, valued at $3,880,100,241.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 907,375 shares of company stock valued at $262,519,346 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $305.77.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $4.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $294.32. 3,819,966 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,433,955. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.77. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.45 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $285.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.08, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

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.