Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 302.1%, holding approximately 0.15% of the company, worth around $397.9 million following the purchase of over 1.1 million shares.
• Institutional investors now own 80.43% of Salesforce's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Salesforce declared a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, set to be paid on October 9th, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 302.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,459,237 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,096,369 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.15% of Salesforce worth $397,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE CRM traded down $2.00 on Tuesday, reaching $247.69. 2,549,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,582,473. The business's fifty day moving average price is $250.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $226.48 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share 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%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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. Analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 24.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Stephens reduced their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total value of $606,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,208,738,995.98. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,250 shares of company stock worth $18,844,155. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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.