Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 1% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price shot up 1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $284.71 and last traded at $279.71. 1,347,670 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,952,559 shares. The stock had previously closed at $277.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.62.

Salesforce Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $264.47 billion, a PE ratio of 45.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $319.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robin L. Washington bought 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,799,331.45. The trade was a 4.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 7,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.0% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,917 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares in the last quarter. Bell Bank boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.0% during the third quarter. Bell Bank now owns 8,661 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 29,864 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,166,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,952,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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