Element Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Salesforce, purchasing nearly 9,712 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2023.
• Salesforce recently reported $2.58 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 7.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts have varied opinions on Salesforce, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $347.50.

Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,712 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,606,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $23,592,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,942 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 437,435 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 602,445 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.49, for a total value of $543,352.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,876,525,280.79. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,782 shares of company stock valued at $12,626,046. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of CRM stock traded up $1.9020 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $245.8720. 6,501,655 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,230,543. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $226.48 and a one year high of $369.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $259.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 25.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Mizuho cut their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $342.89.

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.