Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Cut by Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,696 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 917 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 2.4% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

CRM opened at $297.63 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.58.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at $40,886,746.74. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.