Prana Capital Management LP Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Prana Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 888.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,320 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 27,253 shares during the period. Prana Capital Management LP's holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 349,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $116,736,000 after purchasing an additional 63,345 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 104,581 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $34,965,000 after purchasing an additional 18,728 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 111,697 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $37,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $4,718,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $352.62.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.1%

CRM traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $291.00. 3,837,674 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,875,011. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $307.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.76 billion, a PE ratio of 47.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% 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 the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,527 shares of company stock worth $14,882,976. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.