River Road Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,355 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eos Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $1,953,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 255,694 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $85,486,000 after buying an additional 10,191 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 83,864 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,624 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Finally, Riverbend Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $969,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $277.40 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $321.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.58 billion, a PE ratio of 45.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.62.

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.