Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Sold by Lazari Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Lazari Capital Management cut its Salesforce position by 59.9% in the third quarter, selling 2,823 shares and retaining 1,886 shares valued at approximately $433,000.
• Salesforce announced a $47.50-per-share, all-cash acquisition of Braze, a roughly 58% premium that could expand its marketing and AI capabilities but has raised concerns about valuation, integration and capital-allocation risks.
• Despite mixed investor sentiment, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $278.40 price target; Salesforce also reported quarterly revenue growth of 10.8% and earnings well above estimates.

Lazari Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 59.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,886 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,823 shares during the quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in Salesforce by 410.3% in the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $610,974,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 4,176 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 18,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,486,958.84. The trade was a 28.66% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce will pay $47.50 per Braze share, a premium of approximately 58%, adding a customer-engagement platform that uses real-time customer behavior data. The transaction could strengthen Salesforce’s marketing capabilities, broaden its AI product portfolio and create cross-selling opportunities across its enterprise customer base. Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Braze
• Positive Sentiment: Braze’s acquisition puts the value of customer-engagement and marketing software in focus, lifting sentiment toward the broader sector. For Salesforce, the deal supports its effort to make AI more useful by combining customer data, marketing automation and its CRM platform. Braze rallies as Salesforce acquisition puts marketing software in focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s Informatica acquisition continues to be viewed as a potential data advantage that could improve its AI offerings and generate additional revenue. Investors are likely to focus on whether these data and software investments translate into faster, more sustainable growth. Informatica Boosts Salesforce’s Data Edge
• Negative Sentiment: The all-cash Braze transaction is pressuring Salesforce shares because investors are questioning whether the premium is justified and whether management can integrate another major platform while maintaining growth and margins. The acquisition also increases near-term capital-allocation and execution risk. Salesforce stock falls as Braze deal raises acquisition concerns

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson set a $225.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Freedom Broker upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.40.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2%

Salesforce stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $242.84. 3,949,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,469,401. The business's 50 day moving average is $232.38 and its 200 day moving average is $195.29. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.32 and a 52 week high of $269.11. The company has a market capitalization of $199.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc NYSE: CRM is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company's products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.

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