Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 83,817 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,464,363 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 83,817 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $674,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after acquiring an additional 10,656 shares in the last quarter. XN LP increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% in the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after acquiring an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 27.5% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,178,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.80.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $341.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $279.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.83. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.76 and a 1-year high of $344.88. The firm has a market cap of $326.70 billion, a PE ratio of 59.43, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued 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 currently 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.