Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $4.46 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 91.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,341 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 145,707 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Salesforce by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,988,422,000 after buying an additional 1,683,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $289.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $278.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $267.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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 dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,830 shares of company stock worth $12,907,361 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $350.56.

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.