Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,550,977 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,425 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.27% of Salesforce worth $684,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $272.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $260.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $270.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.66.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Westpark Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. DA Davidson restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $68,473.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,154,496.40. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.