LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 772 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 45.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $4,321,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,288,803 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $766,566,000 after acquiring an additional 243,008 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 15,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 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 $216,646.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $254.98 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $245.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $289.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $310.70.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.