Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Increases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 23.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,613 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,393 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 2.1% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $5.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $295.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,039,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,309,268. 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 company has a market cap of $286.31 billion, a PE ratio of 53.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.08 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $269.73 and its 200-day moving average is $262.79.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total transaction of $277,676.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total value of $2,533,854.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,624.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total transaction of $277,676.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,781 shares of company stock worth $23,696,593. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.