Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Decreases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,300 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,321,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $284.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $273.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $320.28 and a 200-day moving average of $308.86. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.