OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Raises Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 185,164 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,097 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 1.4% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $50,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Umpqua Bank raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd 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 position in Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the third quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the 1st 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 during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 6.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $341.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $264.83. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $211.76 and a 52 week high of $344.88. 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 $326.70 billion, a PE ratio of 59.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.29.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 in the last 90 days. 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.