Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Purchased by Trust Co. of Vermont

Key Points

• Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 18.3% during the second quarter, totaling 55,194 shares valued at approximately $15 million.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock for over $605,000, while Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares, resulting in an 801.89% increase in his position.
• Salesforce has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 17th, representing a 0.7% yield on an annualized basis.

Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 18.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,194 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,539 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 44,283 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $11,884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.11, for a total value of $605,497.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,205,522,871.81. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $20,439,405. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.58.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $236.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $225.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $248.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.05. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The firm's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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, research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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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