Invst LLC Trims Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Invst LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 47.5% in the 1st quarter, ending with approximately 9,150 shares valued at $2,456,000.
• Salesforce reported earnings of $2.91 per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.78, and noted a revenue increase of 9.8% year-over-year.
• A recent quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share is set to be paid on October 9, representing a dividend yield of 0.7% with a payout ratio of 24.13%.

Invst LLC decreased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 47.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,150 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 8,268 shares during the period. Invst LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.58.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $246.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50 day moving average is $253.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.23. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.48 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.44 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,577 shares of company stock worth $18,005,778. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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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