State Street Corp Has $13.43 Billion Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.5% of State Street Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. State Street Corp owned about 5.13% of Salesforce worth $13,432,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.50.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 11.0 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $367.94 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $306.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.81. The firm has a market cap of $351.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.52, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce 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.