DnB Asset Management AS Decreases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

DnB Asset Management AS cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 536,037 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 158,404 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.8% of DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $179,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Nvest Financial LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at $40,361,054.76. This represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $277.88 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $310.49 and its 200 day moving average is $310.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. 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 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 issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 25.16%.

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.