SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $5.44 Million in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 16,261 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,437,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $297.63 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $329.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $307.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.16%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 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.