Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 9,622 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,432 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,622 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 1.6% of Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 34.0% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 483,651 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $145,666,000 after acquiring an additional 9,249 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 9,663 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackstone Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $48,189,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $342.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $294.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.60. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $326.97 billion, a PE ratio of 59.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Salesforce from $342.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.37.

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.