Ashburton Jersey Ltd Takes $4.08 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,214 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,000. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.8% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Salesforce by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,593,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,204,336,000 after acquiring an additional 628,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,028,164,000 after acquiring an additional 153,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Oscar Munoz acquired 3,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. One equities research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.42.

Salesforce Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $240.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $230.89 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $302.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.39. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

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.