Korea Investment CORP Increases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 787,623 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,992 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 0.6% of Korea Investment CORP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of Salesforce worth $263,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 125,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,614,048.68. This represents a 2.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,875 shares of company stock worth $13,580,649 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $280.93 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $311.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $310.74. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $269.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.21, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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.