Connective Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 7,989 Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Connective Capital Management LLC acquired 7,989 shares of Salesforce Inc. valued at approximately $2.14 million, making it the firm's 17th largest holding.
• Recent insider trading showed Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares, reducing his position by 0.02%, while insiders have sold a total of over $13.5 million in shares in the past 90 days.
• Salesforce has received mixed analyst ratings, with target prices ranging from $225.00 to $400.00, and currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $342.89.

Connective Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,989 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,144,000. Salesforce accounts for approximately 2.0% of Connective Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,825,000 after buying an additional 2,436 shares during the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward increased its position in Salesforce by 71.6% in the 1st 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 period. Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,036,482 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $274,802,000 after acquiring an additional 15,782 shares during the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its position in Salesforce by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 104,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,133,000 after acquiring an additional 31,537 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 121.9% during the first quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $95,222,000 after purchasing an additional 195,000 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 52,577 shares of company stock worth $13,528,188 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson raised shares of Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $342.89.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $248.0150 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $258.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.51.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. 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. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

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.

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