Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 57.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 358,246 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 130,130 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $119,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $1,173,564,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 56,872.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $311,998,000 after purchasing an additional 931,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $279.44 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. 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 market capitalization of $268.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $315.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 75,609 shares of company stock valued at $24,920,821. Insiders own 3.20% 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.