Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Buys 8,263 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,959 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,263 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $19,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $401,215,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 21.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,134,170 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,823,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,481,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inclusive Capital Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $216,769,000. Institutional investors own 77.52% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CRM stock traded down $1.72 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $223.59. 1,873,692 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,039,875. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.34 and a 1-year high of $238.22. The company has a market cap of $217.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was 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 $3,486,700,306.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 24,281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.35, for a total transaction of $5,156,070.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,180 shares in the company, valued at $7,258,123. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.14, for a total value of $104,570,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 three months, insiders have sold 1,166,195 shares of company stock valued at $249,330,567. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $220.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.86.

Salesforce Company 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 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.