Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,598,423 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,204,355 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,871,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, 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 value of $2,052,183.48. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

Salesforce stock opened at $270.04 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $309.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $311.57. The firm has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. 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%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.74.

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.