MUFG Securities EMEA plc Cuts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

MUFG Securities EMEA plc cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 57.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,531 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 6,059 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,268,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 47.5% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $506,875,000 after acquiring an additional 804,634 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 821,761 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $166,637,000 after acquiring an additional 6,888 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded down $6.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $272.29. The company had a trading volume of 8,325,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,819,083. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $286.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $263.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total value of $4,275,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,482,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,463,195. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $1,258,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,429,238.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $4,275,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,482,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,463,195. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 636,344 shares of company stock worth $184,877,874 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.