EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,005 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $233,743,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 132.8% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 149 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,956,000,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.52% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $215.02 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $218.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.68. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.34 and a 1 year high of $238.22. The company has a market capitalization of $209.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Northland Securities increased their target price on Salesforce from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.59.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.54, for a total transaction of $3,233,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,786,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,550,219.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.05, for a total transaction of $36,908.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,230 shares in the company, valued at $501,861.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.54, for a total value of $3,233,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,786,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,550,219.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 633,071 shares of company stock valued at $138,539,253. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce 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.