Insider Buying: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Director Acquires 2,051 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Director Oscar Munoz bought 2,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $243.69 per share, for a total transaction of $499,808.19. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,712,165.94. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE CRM opened at $243.10 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $235.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.73, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $261.10 and a 200-day moving average of $276.56. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after buying an additional 457,463 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Salesforce

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.