Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by Quantitative Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 39.0% during Q1, bringing their total holdings to 25,651 shares worth approximately $6.88 million.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock for around $553,657.50, reducing his ownership by 0.02% to approximately $2.93 billion.
• Salesforce's latest earnings report showed an increase in revenue of 7.6% year-over-year, with earnings per share of $2.58, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 39.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,651 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,195 shares during the quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.67, for a total value of $557,257.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,950,138,789.57. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 54,827 shares of company stock valued at $14,085,446 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 price target (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $342.89.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:CRM traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $247.75. 4,955,240 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,850,747. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.96. The firm has a market cap of $236.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

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.