Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 17,624 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 17,624 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $30,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $631,000. Pitcairn Co. raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 11,905 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $15,365,000. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $1,211,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,361,054.76. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % 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 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $272.06 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $305.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $261.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.42.

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.