Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 16,092 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 72.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,441 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,092 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,447 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Salesforce by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 207,280 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $69,300,000 after acquiring an additional 9,885 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,945 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 86.8% in the fourth quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 1,719 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Finally, Winthrop Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,342,415. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,830 shares of company stock worth $12,907,361 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $2.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $291.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,220,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,823,186. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.35.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change 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 yield of 0.58%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 26.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Scotiabank cut their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stephens assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $350.56.

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.