Kitching Partners LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kitching Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 647 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000. Salesforce makes up 0.3% of Kitching Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invst LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.2% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 17,003 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 7,332 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 15.7% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 14.0% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,047 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 570.4% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,446 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $14,903,000 after purchasing an additional 46,324 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of CRM opened at $267.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.04, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $271.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.10.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $386,831.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. The trade was a 11.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,705,195. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,051 shares of company stock worth $15,027,714 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.37.

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.