Payden & Rygel Buys 12,800 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Payden & Rygel raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 272.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,500 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,800 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $42,809,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,068,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,048,000. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 22,526 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,166,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.42.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $240.26 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $302.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.00. The firm has a market cap of $230.89 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

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.