Raiffeisen Bank International AG Invests $65.99 Million in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 196,548 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $65,988,000. Salesforce accounts for 1.0% of Raiffeisen Bank International AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $1,173,564,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $289.77 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $278.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.66, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $267.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $350.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,342,415. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,830 shares of company stock worth $12,907,361. 3.20% of the stock is owned by 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.

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