Atika Capital Management LLC Invests $6.49 Million in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Atika Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 19,400 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,486,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of 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 bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 5.9 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $240.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $230.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month 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 fifty day simple moving average of $302.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.39.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased 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. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $257.28 per share, for a total transaction of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.