Midwest Professional Planners LTD. Grows Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 1.6% of Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,173,564,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 56,872.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $311,998,000 after acquiring an additional 931,566 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,071,750. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the 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 directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 4.8 %

Salesforce stock opened at $270.94 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $319.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $260.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.62.

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.