Aviance Capital Partners LLC Has $621,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lowered its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 72.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,857 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,940 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 52.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its position in Salesforce by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 56,872.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $311,998,000 after purchasing an additional 931,566 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.62.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $282.74 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $323.68 and its 200 day moving average is $308.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $270.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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.