Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Sells 1,378 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,553 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,378 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Salesforce by 10.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,028,164,000 after buying an additional 153,500 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.42.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of CRM opened at $244.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.65. The company has a market cap of $234.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one 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.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.