Cerity Partners LLC Decreases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 533,151 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 20,475 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Salesforce worth $174,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in 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 approximately $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.42.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 5.9 %

CRM opened at $240.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $230.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $302.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.80.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.10%.

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.