Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P Increases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 61.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,405 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,830 shares during the quarter. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,028,164,000 after buying an additional 153,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $277.88 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $310.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,416,644.60. The trade was a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction 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 $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.