Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. Sells 25,459 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. trimmed its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 71.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 25,459 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 0.7% of Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $3,048,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 241.0% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 102,393 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,026,000 after acquiring an additional 72,362 shares in the last quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 4,683 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 974,566 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $266,748,000 after purchasing an additional 102,122 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $240.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $230.89 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G 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 quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $302.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.39.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Munoz acquired 3,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, 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 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens began coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.42.

Salesforce 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.