Nebula Research & Development LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,499 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $61,384,000. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $408,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 166.7% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,667,337 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $557,441,000 after buying an additional 1,042,132 shares during the last quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 12,067 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $267.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.06, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $273.75 and a 200 day moving average of $308.27.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,051 shares of company stock valued at $15,027,714. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.