Captrust Financial Advisors Buys 192,526 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 369.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 244,595 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 192,526 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $81,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $14,704,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $7,936,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,603,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 332,485 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $111,160,000 after purchasing an additional 9,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,941,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,330 shares of company stock valued at $12,769,861. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $275.21 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.58 billion, a PE ratio of 45.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Westpark Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $350.56.

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.