Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 8,456 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,416 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 8,456 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $69,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 11.2% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 12.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 131,337 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $35,948,000 after buying an additional 14,551 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank raised its stake in Salesforce by 5.2% in the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 8.7% in the third quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $282.74 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $270.58 billion, a PE ratio of 46.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $323.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.84.

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.