AIA Group Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,393 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded down $4.52 on Thursday, reaching $271.80. 4,120,889 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,684,668. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $298.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.89. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.57 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $263.65 billion, a PE ratio of 64.71, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total value of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,074,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 907,149 shares of company stock valued at $262,952,448 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Nine investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.87.

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.