Winslow Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Winslow Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 40.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,545 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,067 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.42.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of CRM opened at $243.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.07, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $295.86 and a 200 day moving average of $311.01. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.