Rakuten Securities Inc. Purchases 133 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Westpark Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.34.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total value of $514,686.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,190 shares in the company, valued at $8,416,644.60. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 125,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,614,048.68. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,111 shares of company stock worth $9,299,283 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $263.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.03 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.25. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.77 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

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.