Global Endowment Management LP Trims Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Global Endowment Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 32.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,691 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 827 shares during the period. Global Endowment Management LP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $4,321,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Salesforce by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,288,803 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $766,566,000 after buying an additional 243,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 1,936 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $249.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $284.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.74. 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 quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director Oscar Munoz bought 3,882 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $257.28 per share, for a total transaction of $998,760.96. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,046,967.04. The trade was a 48.76 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $298,055.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,439 shares of company stock worth $12,043,153 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. TD Cowen upgraded 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.32.

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.