The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,421,133 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 218,868 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.7% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.25% of Salesforce worth $809,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Nvest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,051 shares of company stock worth $15,027,714 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. One investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.37.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $267.87 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $273.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.54. The stock has a market cap of $257.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

About Salesforce

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.