Channing Capital Management LLC Has $9.69 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Channing Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 17.1%, now holding 36,099 shares valued at approximately $9.7 million.
• Major institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have also significantly increased their positions in Salesforce, which is now owned 80.43% by institutional investors.
• Salesforce's stock has received multiple rating adjustments from analysts, with the average target price currently set at $342.89 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 17.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,099 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 5,265 shares during the quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $23,592,501,000 after buying an additional 1,383,942 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 437,435 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Salesforce by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after buying an additional 1,683,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 602,445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.89.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total value of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,112,033,829.80. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,032 shares of company stock worth $13,171,536. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $245.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $258.99 and a 200-day moving average of $273.75. The company has a market capitalization of $234.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

About Salesforce

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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