D.B. Root & Company LLC Buys New Shares in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired 1,201 shares of Salesforce Inc. during the 2nd quarter, with the purchase valued at approximately $328,000.
• Major investors such as Vanguard and Goldman Sachs have increased their stakes in Salesforce, indicating strong institutional interest with 80.43% of the stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Salesforce announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, set to be paid on October 9th, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.7%.

D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,201 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,484,616,000 after acquiring an additional 600,386 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 437,435 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth about $2,039,196,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,362,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,707,316,000 after purchasing an additional 295,681 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Salesforce from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Twenty-six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.38, for a total value of $531,855.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,815,657,152.98. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,750 shares of company stock worth $19,747,868. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $240.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.19. The stock's fifty day moving average is $246.66 and its 200 day moving average is $260.05. 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 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Salesforce's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.13%.

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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