Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $284.71 and last traded at $279.71. 1,347,670 shares were traded 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.62.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $319.09 and its 200-day moving average price 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. The trade was a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $4,321,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.