Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 299 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,277 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $254.98 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $289.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $310.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.04 billion, a PE ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost 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 currently 26.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This trade represents a 48.76 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last ninety days. 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.