Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $2.17 Billion Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,493,055 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 234,679 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 234.5% of Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,170,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 125,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,614,048.68. This trade represents a 2.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,875 shares of company stock valued at $13,580,649. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $280.93 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.97 billion, a PE ratio of 46.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $311.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $310.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.74.

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.