Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s 4th Largest Position

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 19.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,090 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,910 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 5.5% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.5% in the third quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CRM stock traded up $4.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $345.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,683,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,286,532. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $348.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $281.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $330.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.01, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.