Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Invests $141.95 Million in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 424,582 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $141,951,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $1,120,391.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,312.44. The trade was a 41.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,830 shares of company stock worth $12,907,361 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.6%

Salesforce stock opened at $275.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.75 billion, a PE ratio of 45.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.36. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 Monday, March 31st. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $350.56.

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.