Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 397,949 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,478 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $133,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 5.9 %

CRM stock opened at $240.26 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Salesforce 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.