Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 3,510,198 Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,510,198 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,564,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $292.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $279.49 billion, a PE ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $325.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given 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 an average target price of $365.32.

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.