AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Invests $758,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,268 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $758,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,028,164,000 after acquiring an additional 153,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,416,644.60. This trade represents a 5.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $277.88 on Friday. 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 moving average of $310.49 and a 200 day moving average of $310.51. The firm has a market cap of $267.04 billion, a PE ratio of 45.70, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.16%.

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.