Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lessened its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 246,191 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $67,483,000 after acquiring an additional 9,548 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 35.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,610 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,395 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 196,896 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $53,892,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its stake in Salesforce by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 769 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.66.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:CRM traded up $1.83 on Friday, reaching $292.94. The stock had a trading volume of 3,087,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,414,292. The company has a market cap of $283.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $266.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.77.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $2,359,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,429,961. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.