HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases 2,826 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% during 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 position 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 purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,028,164,000 after buying an additional 153,500 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $270.04 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $309.39 and its 200-day moving average is $311.57.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 payout ratio is 26.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % 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 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.