Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 59.5% in Q2, adding 19,974 shares to hold 53,532 shares valued at about $14.6 million, and institutions/hedge funds now own 80.43% of the stock.
• Salesforce beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $2.91 (vs. $2.78) and revenue of $10.24B (up 9.8% YoY), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 11.330–11.370, and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target of $323.51.
• Insider activity shows Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares while CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares; insiders have sold a total of 63,122 shares (~$15.6M) over the last 90 days and currently own 3.00% of the company.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 59.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,532 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,974 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 87,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $23,814,000 after buying an additional 3,387 shares during the period. Advyzon Investment Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in Salesforce by 9.2% during the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 148,254 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $40,427,000 after purchasing an additional 12,544 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 30.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Andra AP fonden boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 34.4% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 174,145 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $47,488,000 after purchasing an additional 44,600 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut 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. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, October 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Northland Capmk lowered Salesforce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $323.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.39, for a total value of $545,377.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,887,245,694.69. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 63,122 shares of company stock worth $15,615,413 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $233.37 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $245.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.96. The company has a market capitalization of $222.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $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, analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

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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