Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 216,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,365 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $59,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marco Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 53,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $14,617,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,450 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 42,741 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,716,000 after acquiring an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, SevenBridge Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total value of $884,081.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,622.79. This trade represents a 2.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities increased their target price on Salesforce from $342.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.37.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $342.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $326.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $294.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.60.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

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.