Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $110.51 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lowered its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 330,528 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,547 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 1.1% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $110,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. State Street Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after buying an additional 96,381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $330.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $316.31 billion, a PE ratio of 54.36, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $339.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.65. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

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.