Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,696 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 917 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 2.4% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $297.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $329.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.58. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

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.