Salesforce Inc. $CRM Holdings Lifted by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 6.8%, owning approximately $742.9 million worth of shares as of the latest SEC filing.
• Salesforce reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding expectations, with quarterly revenue of $10.24 billion, a 9.8% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts' sentiment remains positive, with Salesforce receiving a mix of ratings, including an "overweight" rating from Cantor Fitzgerald and an average target price of $325.23.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,724,424 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 173,447 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Salesforce worth $742,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 27,786 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $7,577,000 after purchasing an additional 6,430 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 59,970 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $16,353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,644 shares during the last quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,367,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Salesforce by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 344,887 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $93,016,000 after acquiring an additional 81,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.8% during the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 110,968 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,260,000 after acquiring an additional 7,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Salesforce from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Twenty-five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $325.23.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.8%

CRM opened at $257.11 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $226.48 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $246.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $257.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 24.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.07, for a total transaction of $553,657.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,931,080,275.97. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 78,750 shares of company stock valued at $19,424,880. 3.00% of the stock is 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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