O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $39.01 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 116,680 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,827 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $39,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $270.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.13. 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 stock has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a PE ratio of 44.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 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.