Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 2,267 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 355,145 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,267 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $118,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,321,000. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares during the period. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,861,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CRM. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Stephens began coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $352.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,527 shares of company stock worth $14,882,976 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.1%

CRM stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $291.00. The company had a trading volume of 3,837,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,875,011. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $307.03. The company has a market capitalization of $279.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.86, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

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.