Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 153,852 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Salesforce by 48.7%, bringing its total holdings to 469,679 shares valued at approximately $126.04 million.
• Insider trading activity was noted, with CEO Marc Benioff selling 2,250 shares for $578,295, while insiders collectively sold over 52,000 shares worth $13.5 million in the last quarter.
• Salesforce recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.58, exceeding analyst expectations, and has set its FY 2026 EPS guidance between 11.270-11.330.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 48.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 469,679 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 153,852 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $126,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Salesforce by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,825,000 after buying an additional 2,436 shares in the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,036,482 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $274,802,000 after purchasing an additional 15,782 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 104,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,133,000 after purchasing an additional 31,537 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $95,222,000 after acquiring an additional 195,000 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.54.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $5.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $249.25. 2,657,844 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,206,593. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company's 50 day moving average price is $257.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.78. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.57, for a total value of $557,032.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,948,947,632.47. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 57,077 shares of company stock valued at $14,642,478 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.