Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. United Bank grew its position in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,128 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its position in Salesforce by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,704 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,086 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,801 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their target price on Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.62.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $320,072.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. This trade represents a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $277.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $321.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.03. The stock has a market cap of $266.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

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.