WINTON GROUP Ltd Purchases New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 7,040 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,354,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 125,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,614,048.68. The trade was a 2.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.74.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $277.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $267.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.70, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week 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.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.