PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd Cuts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,249 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 921 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 3.4% of PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. This represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $270.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $309.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $310.68. 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. The company has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research 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 issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.74.

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.