Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 492,037 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,481 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.6% of Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.05% of Salesforce worth $166,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $330.19 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.99 billion, a PE ratio of 54.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company 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 earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

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.