Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Trims Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co cut its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 79.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,980 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 31,563 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $874,748,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $564,188,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.55.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $255.32 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $247.41 billion, a PE ratio of 45.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Profile

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.