Park Avenue Securities LLC Reduces Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC has reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 4.9%, owning 33,902 shares valued at approximately $9.25 million after selling 1,753 shares.
• Insider activity includes Director David Blair Kirk purchasing 3,400 shares for about $865,844, which increased his holdings by 801.89%, while CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares for over $551,000.
• An earnings report showed Salesforce achieved $2.91 EPS, exceeding expectations, with quarterly revenue of $10.24 billion, demonstrating a 9.8% year-over-year growth.

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,902 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,753 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Coign Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% in the first quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% during the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. KDT Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the first quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% in the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $2.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $249.64. 7,518,279 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,219,225. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $226.48 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $237.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. 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. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total transaction of $606,105.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,208,738,995.98. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 74,250 shares of company stock valued at $18,844,155. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Company 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.