KBC Group NV Boosts Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• KBC Group NV increased its Salesforce stake by 11.5% in the first quarter, buying 125,788 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,222,004 shares worth about $228.1 million.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.88 versus $3.13 expected and revenue of $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive on CRM, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $254.42.

KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,222,004 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 125,788 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.6% of KBC Group NV's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. KBC Group NV owned 0.15% of Salesforce worth $228,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 410.3% during the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $171.20 on Monday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.32 and a 52-week high of $274.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $170.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Barclays upgraded shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. CLSA assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.42.

Salesforce Profile

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.

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