Everest Management Corp. Purchases New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Everest Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,230 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $746,000. Salesforce makes up 0.7% of Everest Management Corp.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.1 %

Salesforce stock opened at $254.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.90, a P/E/G 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. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $285.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.16.

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 issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director Oscar Munoz bought 3,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 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 $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,439 shares of company stock valued at $12,043,153 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.76.

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.