First Financial Group Corp Acquires New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

First Financial Group Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 905 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $4,321,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $279.76 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $268.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.01, 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $318.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.