Nicholas Investment Partners LP Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 846.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,031 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,288 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.56.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:CRM opened at $289.18 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 cap of $278.01 billion, a PE ratio of 47.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $267.33 and a 200 day moving average of $307.23. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company’s 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 owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,830 shares of company stock worth $12,907,361. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.