Bell Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Bell Bank has reduced its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 29% in the second quarter, now owning 5,637 shares valued at approximately $1.54 million.
• Salesforce reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.91, exceeding analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.8%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, which will be paid on October 9th, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Bell Bank trimmed its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 29.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,637 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,303 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $23,592,501,000 after buying an additional 1,383,942 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,484,616,000 after purchasing an additional 600,386 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,014,148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,419,037,000 after purchasing an additional 437,435 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $2,039,196,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 4.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,362,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,707,316,000 after buying an additional 295,681 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CRM shares. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Oppenheimer cut 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. Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson raised Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.58.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.09, for a total value of $551,452.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,919,406,936.39. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired 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 $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,250 shares of company stock worth $18,844,155 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.8%

CRM traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $247.70. 2,549,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,582,473. The company's fifty day moving average price is $250.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.38. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $226.48 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $235.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. The firm's 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. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.13%.

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.