Aviva PLC Buys 5,787 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aviva PLC boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 578,218 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,787 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $193,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth 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 boosted its holdings 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 valued at $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,593,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,204,336,000 after purchasing an additional 628,593 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in 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 buying an additional 153,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $1,120,391.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,312.44. This represents a 41.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target 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, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.42.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $240.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $302.46 and a 200 day moving average of $311.00. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.