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

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 477.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 850,753 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 703,542 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.1% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd owned about 0.09% of Salesforce worth $228,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded up $1.38 during trading on Monday, hitting $259.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,529,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,259,348. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $272.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total value of $584,257.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,104,501,823.22. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total transaction of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,922.55. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,534 shares of company stock worth $10,028,795 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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.