Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,230 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.1% in 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 position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. This represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $270.04 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $309.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization 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 twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.74.

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.