Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 45.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,253 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 2,266 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 15.7% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,047 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,930,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $380,000. Old Port Advisors increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 868 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Salesforce by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,483 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,051 shares of company stock valued at $15,027,714 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.2 %

Salesforce stock traded up $5.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $275.21. 4,323,233 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,831,297. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $264.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $269.34 and a 200-day moving average of $307.70.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $350.56.

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.