Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Holdings Trimmed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,464,363 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 83,817 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Salesforce worth $674,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Salesforce by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.80.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $341.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $326.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.43, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.76 and a 1-year high of $344.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $279.53 and a 200-day moving average of $264.83.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.