Cadence Bank Takes $1.17 Million Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Cadence Bank has acquired 4,372 shares of Salesforce Inc. valued at approximately $1.17 million, as reported in their recent Form 13F filing.
• The average rating for Salesforce's stock is currently "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $342.89, following recent adjustments by various analysts.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce for around $578,295, which slightly reduced his ownership stake in the company.

Cadence Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,372 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,173,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 8.0% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,436 shares in the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% during the first quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.5% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,036,482 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $274,802,000 after purchasing an additional 15,782 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 43.0% during the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 104,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,133,000 after purchasing an additional 31,537 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 121.9% in the first quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $95,222,000 after acquiring an additional 195,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Stephens dropped their price target on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Northland Securities dropped their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.89.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $247.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,955,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,850,747. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $258.06 and a 200 day moving average of $270.96.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,061,511,978.42. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 54,827 shares of company stock worth $14,085,446 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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.