Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 663,879 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,815 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.3% of Candriam S.C.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $221,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird cut 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. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $292.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $279.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.21. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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