Choate Investment Advisors Grows Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Choate Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,342 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $279.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $318.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.36. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,886,746.74. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.62.

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.