Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 13.3% during Q2, acquiring an additional 1,160 shares, bringing its total to 9,898 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• Salesforce's CEO, Marc Benioff, sold 2,250 shares for about $531,855, while Director David Blair Kirk increased his holdings by 801.89% with a purchase of 3,400 shares valued at nearly $865,844.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Salesforce, with target prices ranging from $276 to $405, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" reflecting significant confidence in the company’s future performance.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 13.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,898 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coign Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the first quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. KDT Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the first quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% in the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.38, for a total transaction of $531,855.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased 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 of the company's stock, valued at $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $20,357,213 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.58.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $240.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $228.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.19. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $246.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.32.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 24.13%.

Salesforce Company 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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