D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. Has $5.46 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. lessened its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,343 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 1.0% of D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.74.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

Salesforce stock opened at $270.04 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $309.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336. 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.