286,787 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Acquired by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 286,787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $96,056,000. Salesforce accounts for about 0.6% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Salesforce by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,593,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,204,336,000 after purchasing an additional 628,593 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,028,164,000 after buying an additional 153,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.42.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at $40,361,054.76. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 5.9 %

CRM stock opened at $240.26 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $302.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.00. The company has a market cap of $230.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.10%.

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.