Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Invests $109,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 362 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $109,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $564,188,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 110.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,394,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $893,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $239.84 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $261.81 and a 200-day moving average of $276.63. The stock has a market cap of $232.40 billion, a PE ratio of 43.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total value of $4,581,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,981,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,964,707,719.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,981,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,964,707,719.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit bought 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at $912,699,429.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 556,787 shares of company stock valued at $154,295,433 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

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.