Freedom Investment Management Inc. Acquires 526 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,592 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 10,543 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075 shares during the last quarter. Generation Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $1,751,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 17,179 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,744,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its position in Salesforce by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 261,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $87,412,000 after acquiring an additional 14,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allred Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 4,394 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $246.93 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $309.60. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and five 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 a consensus target price of $360.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $298,055.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,654 shares of company stock valued at $14,124,094 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.