Martingale Asset Management L P Boosts Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P increased its shares in Salesforce Inc. by 2.8%, bringing its total holdings to 71,285 shares valued at approximately $19.13 million.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock for around $585,675, reducing his ownership by 0.02% to 11.95 million shares.
• Salesforce's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.58 EPS and revenues of $9.83 billion, showing a year-over-year revenue growth of 7.6%.

Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,285 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,922 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Salesforce were worth $19,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $23,592,501,000 after buying an additional 1,383,942 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 7.5% in the fourth 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. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total value of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at $3,112,033,829.80. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,032 shares of company stock worth $13,171,536. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE CRM opened at $245.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $258.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.75.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current 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 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 was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Four investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $342.89.

Salesforce 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CRM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.