Ardsley Advisory Partners LP Sells 89,500 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Ardsley Advisory Partners LP significantly reduced its holdings in Salesforce by 79.9%, selling 89,500 shares to now own 22,500 shares valued at approximately $6 million.
• Salesforce's stock recently opened at $252.94, reflecting a market capitalization of $241.81 billion and a PE ratio of 39.58.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 25.98%.

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 79.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,500 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 89,500 shares during the period. Ardsley Advisory Partners LP's holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coign Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.1% during the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mendel Money Management lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $6.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $250.40. The stock had a trading volume of 13,010,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,763,446. The company has a market cap of $239.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.48 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $255.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CRM. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Northland Securities lowered their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $543,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,876,644,396.50. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 66,077 shares of company stock worth $16,885,773 over the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.