Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 307,160 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,744,810 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 307,160 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.18% of Salesforce worth $583,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in 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 buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $270.04 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 fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a PE ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $309.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.57.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.