Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 184,717 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Rating) by 57.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,699 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 184,717 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $19,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 24,037 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,104,000 after buying an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Salesforce by 42.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 621 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $455,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Salesforce by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 860,950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $182,797,000 after buying an additional 151,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.59, for a total value of $28,939.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,273 shares in the company, valued at $198,066.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CEO Bret Steven Taylor sold 1,034 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.55, for a total transaction of $132,920.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 901,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,848,617.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.59, for a total value of $28,939.74. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,066.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,293 shares of company stock worth $6,285,082. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $182.89 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.34 and a 1-year high of $222.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $163.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $182.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 870.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.21.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The CRM provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.32. Salesforce had a return on equity of 4.48% and a net margin of 0.66%. The firm had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on Salesforce from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $180.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Salesforce from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Northland Securities lifted their target price on Salesforce from $150.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Salesforce from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.24.

Salesforce Company Profile

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Salesforce, Inc engages in the design and development of cloud-based enterprise software for customer relationship management. Its solutions include sales force automation, customer service and support, marketing automation, digital commerce, community management, collaboration, industry-specific solutions, and salesforce platform.