Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 69,584 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,734,170 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 69,584 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.6% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $823,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:CRM traded up $3.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $259.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,896,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,918,195. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $251.86 billion, a PE ratio of 46.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $259.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.46.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.19%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.14, for a total value of $4,502,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,951,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,887,162,963.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 2,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $524,680.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.14, for a total value of $4,502,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,951,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,887,162,963.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 494,952 shares of company stock valued at $135,205,453 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

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.