Capital International Investors Sells 2,320,838 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Capital International Investors cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,635,883 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,320,838 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 1.0% of Capital International Investors’ portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,562,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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 Monday, March 31st. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.32.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $216,646.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,361,054.76. This represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,654 shares of company stock worth $14,124,094 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $246.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $282.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $309.56.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.