Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 63.0%, owning approximately 0.30% of the company, valued at $763.3 million.
• Salesforce's shares recently traded down 1.3%, with a current market cap of $241.81 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416, leading to an annualized yield of 0.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 25.98%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 63.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,844,437 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,099,627 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.30% of Salesforce worth $763,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 61.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 528,953 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $139,369,000 after purchasing an additional 201,004 shares during the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 190,438 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $51,106,000 after purchasing an additional 6,491 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,790 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $7,458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $265,400,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 6,985 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE:CRM traded up $6.39 on Friday, reaching $250.40. 13,010,920 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,763,446. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $255.64 and a 200-day moving average of $267.08. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 16.87%.The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. The business'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. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Salesforce from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $331.34.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,061,511,978.42. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 66,077 shares of company stock worth $16,885,773 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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.