Affinity Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Affinity Capital Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Salesforce, boosting holdings by 230.4% to a total of 2,762 shares worth $753,000 in the latest quarter.
• Salesforce is currently experiencing strong interest from hedge funds, with 80.43% of its stock owned by institutional investors, indicating robust institutional support for the company.
• The stock recently saw a decline of 1.4%, opening at $239.09, while analysts have set varying price targets, with an average target price of $332.58 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Affinity Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 230.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,762 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,926 shares during the quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $23,592,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,942 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,484,616,000 after acquiring an additional 600,386 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,014,148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,419,037,000 after acquiring an additional 437,435 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,658,132 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,894,673,000 after acquiring an additional 602,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,039,196,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Salesforce from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.39, for a total value of $545,377.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,887,245,694.69. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,077 shares of company stock worth $19,099,953 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $239.09 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $251.97 and its 200-day moving average is $263.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.48 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 24.13%.

Salesforce 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.

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