China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 46.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,382 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 18,220 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $874,748,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 376.1% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.62, for a total transaction of $352,268.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,585,731.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total value of $277,676.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.62, for a total value of $352,268.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,585,731.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,581 shares of company stock worth $22,616,017 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.37.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $293.81 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.08 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 has a market capitalization of $284.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $270.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.75.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

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.