Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 319,924 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,576,969 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 319,924 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.27% of Salesforce worth $678,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $916,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 23,653.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,220 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $370,033,000 after buying an additional 1,400,300 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 47.5% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $506,875,000 after buying an additional 804,634 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 330.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 935,885 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $189,779,000 after buying an additional 718,245 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.63, for a total transaction of $4,179,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,632,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,519,745,272.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 624,193 shares of company stock valued at $182,005,898 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, April 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $276.67. 2,912,308 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,305,688. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $291.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.64. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $267.82 billion, a PE ratio of 65.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

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.

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