Salesforce Inc. $CRM Holdings Raised by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 6.9% during the second quarter, holding approximately 1,108,492 shares valued at about $301.9 million.
• Salesforce recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.91, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $10.24 billion, marking a 9.8% year-over-year increase.
• Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of Salesforce at an average price of $254.66, significantly increasing his ownership stake by 801.89%.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,108,492 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 72,010 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 0.5% of Aberdeen Group plc's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.12% of Salesforce worth $301,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% during the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 383.3% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Twenty-six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $331.89.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total transaction of $558,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,958,834,236.40. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 78,750 shares of company stock valued at $19,634,805 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $242.11 on Friday. 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 $230.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.19. The company's fifty day moving average is $244.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.93. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.

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