Essential Planning LLC. Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,106 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 56,872.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $311,998,000 after buying an additional 931,566 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $284.88 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.86. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $273.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.85, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,886,746.74. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.62.

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.