Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Buys 8,449 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,889 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,449 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 1.5% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $29,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,593,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,204,336,000 after purchasing an additional 628,593 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $272.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $305.91 and a 200 day moving average of $311.50. The firm has a market cap of $261.45 billion, a PE ratio of 44.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.42.

Salesforce Company 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.