Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 84,620 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 40.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 291,883 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 84,620 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $78,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Athena Investment Management acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2,507.9% in the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,926,000 after acquiring an additional 22,797 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 27,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $823,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 117.2% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,922.55. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Oscar Munoz acquired 3,882 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,046,967.04. This trade represents a 48.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:CRM traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $272.72. The stock had a trading volume of 21,736,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,529,239. The business's 50 day moving average is $270.38 and its 200 day moving average is $294.25. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $260.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.68, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 0.61%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $349.08.

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.