Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 1.5% – Should You Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price rose 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $286.76 and last traded at $284.92. Approximately 2,158,212 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 6,369,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $280.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.74.

Salesforce Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $313.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $310.36. The stock has a market cap of $273.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.76, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,762 shares of company stock valued at $13,733,407. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 7,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,152,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 8,825 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.2% in the third quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 30,500 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,348,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 35.9% during the third quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 36,432 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,972,000 after acquiring an additional 9,622 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.