Guinness Asset Management LTD Purchases 6,681 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 5.3% during Q1, acquiring an additional 6,681 shares, bringing their total holdings to 133,235 shares valued at approximately $35.76 million.
• Salesforce's CEO, Marc Benioff, recently sold 2,250 shares, while Director David Blair Kirk significantly increased his ownership by 801.89% after purchasing 3,400 shares.
• Several analysts have cut their price targets for Salesforce, with the average price target now set at $332.58, reflecting a shift in market sentiment, despite the company reporting stronger than expected earnings in its last quarterly report.

Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,235 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,681 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Salesforce were worth $35,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson raised shares of Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.58.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.66, for a total transaction of $554,985.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,938,108,102.86. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 70,577 shares of company stock valued at $18,005,778. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5%

CRM traded down $3.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $242.68. 8,382,442 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,981,092. The stock has a market cap of $231.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.48 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $253.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.50. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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 expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's 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.