Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Raised by TCW Group Inc.

TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 903,247 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,409 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 2.3% of TCW Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. TCW Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Salesforce worth $180,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 132.8% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 149 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 350.0% during the 2nd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 225 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.50, for a total transaction of $269,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,616,589.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.50, for a total value of $269,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 100,309 shares in the company, valued at $21,616,589.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.14, for a total transaction of $104,570,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 16,671,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,486,700,306.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,166,195 shares of company stock valued at $249,318,692. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $225.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $217.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.72. The stock has a market cap of $219.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.36, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.19. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.34 and a 1-year high of $238.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The CRM provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Northland Securities upped their target price on Salesforce from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Salesforce from $145.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Salesforce from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Salesforce from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.86.

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 relationship intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer service and support at scale.