Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 12,188 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 332,075 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,188 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 1.0% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $90,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Salesforce by 3.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James raised their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.74.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $295,425.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,257,813.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $295,425.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,257,813.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,429,961. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $291.12 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $265.84 and a 200-day moving average of $263.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.36, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. 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 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Salesforce Company 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.