Van Strum & Towne Inc. Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,109 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 0.0% of Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position 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 worth $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.62.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $279.76 on Friday. 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 cap of $268.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $318.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.70.

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.