Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,356 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,937 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.55.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $252.42 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $244.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.40, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.01.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Oscar Munoz bought 2,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $243.69 per share, for a total transaction of $499,808.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,026 shares in the company, valued at $1,712,165.94. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.