Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 2,267 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 355,145 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,267 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $118,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $289.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $267.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $307.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens assumed coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $350.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 45,830 shares of company stock worth $12,907,361 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.