Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,050 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,688,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th 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 during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.42.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $240.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $302.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.39. 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 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $257.28 per share, for a total transaction of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This trade represents a 48.76 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,416,644.60. This trade represents a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. Corporate 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.