AlphaQuest LLC Buys 5,821 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 239.4% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 5,821 shares, bringing its total holdings to 8,253 shares valued at approximately $2.22 million.
• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company at an average price of $246.07, decreasing his direct ownership to 11.91 million shares, valued at about $2.93 billion.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a revenue increase of 7.6% year-over-year, with earnings per share surpassing analyst expectations, and Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at $11.270-11.330 EPS.

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 239.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,253 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,821 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Coign Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the first quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $897,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 7.3% during the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Mendel Money Management lifted its position in Salesforce by 3.6% during the first quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.07, for a total transaction of $553,657.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,931,080,275.97. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,577 shares of company stock worth $13,528,188. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $245.7830 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $258.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.10. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $226.48 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. Analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.89.

Salesforce Company 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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