Renaissance Investment Group LLC Lowers Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Renaissance Investment Group LLC has reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 40.8%, bringing its holdings down to 15,094 shares worth approximately $4.1 million.
• Salesforce reported $2.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 to be paid on October 9th.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a moderate buy rating for Salesforce with a consensus price target of $332.58.

Renaissance Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 40.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,094 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 10,386 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Salesforce by 383.3% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 116 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.58.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $242.33 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $252.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.90. The stock has a market cap of $230.70 billion, a PE ratio of 35.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Salesforce's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.91, for a total value of $548,797.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,905,351,282.61. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,827 shares of company stock worth $18,554,576 in the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Salesforce

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.

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