Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Lifted by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 104,899 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 2,506 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $35,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Salesforce by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. 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. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $350.56.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CRM opened at $273.65 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $268.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.01, 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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 given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. 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. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,830 shares of company stock valued at $12,907,361. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.