Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Purchases New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 6,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,551,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $910,220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,892 shares of company stock worth $15,269,897 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

CRM opened at $245.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $254.31 and its 200 day moving average is $269.24. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.14 billion, a PE ratio of 44.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

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.