Aldebaran Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aldebaran Financial Inc. cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,145 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.6% of Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $4,321,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,288,803 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $766,566,000 after acquiring an additional 243,008 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 15,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, DA Davidson restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $358.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $318,157.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,248,954.06. This trade represents a 8.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,654 shares of company stock worth $14,124,094. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 4.5 %

CRM stock opened at $236.05 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $279.43 and a 200-day moving average of $309.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

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.