SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 16,261 Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,261 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,437,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,805,936.08. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $297.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $329.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.58. The stock has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.