WINTON GROUP Ltd Acquires New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,040 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,354,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 56,872.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $311,998,000 after acquiring an additional 931,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.74.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $277.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $267.04 billion, a PE ratio of 45.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $310.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $310.51. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, 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 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Company 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.