Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,576,104 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 169,075 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.27% of Salesforce worth $861,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,342,415. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,830 shares of company stock worth $12,907,361. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded up $4.61 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $293.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,776,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,843,537. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $267.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.23. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $282.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.10%.

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.