Acadian Asset Management LLC Has $28.93 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 31.6% during the first quarter, holding a total of 107,844 shares valued at approximately $28.9 million.
• Salesforce reported earnings of $2.91 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 9.8% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, which is set to be paid on October 9th, with a dividend yield of 0.7%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,882 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $28,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 17,520 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,702,000 after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares during the period. Acorns Advisers LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC now owns 869 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 91.4% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 7,735 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,077,000 after acquiring an additional 3,694 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 305,317 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $81,935,000 after acquiring an additional 17,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Salesforce by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 231,301 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $62,072,000 after acquiring an additional 10,782 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.58.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a 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 Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,061,511,978.42. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,577 shares of company stock valued at $18,005,778 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of CRM stock traded down $3.60 on Friday, reaching $242.68. 8,382,442 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,981,092. The business's 50 day moving average price is $253.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.48 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $231.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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