Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $867,000 Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,592 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $246.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $281.23 and a 200-day moving average of $309.60. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $318,157.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,248,954.06. This trade represents a 8.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $1,120,391.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,312.44. The trade was a 41.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,654 shares of company stock worth $14,124,094 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.