Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 734,272 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 147.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,232,922 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 734,272 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.7% of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $407,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its position in Salesforce by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the period. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,758.58. This trade 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 this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.8 %

CRM opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $338.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.53. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $310.55 billion, a PE ratio of 53.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.