Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 1.7%, selling 4,933 shares and holding 282,103 shares, which now makes up 0.4% of its investment portfolio.
• Salesforce's CEO, Marc Benioff, sold 2,250 shares at an average price of $246.07, reducing his ownership by 0.02%, while insiders have collectively sold over 52,500 shares in the past 90 days.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of sentiment, with four analysts

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 282,103 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 4,933 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.4% of MetLife Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $75,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.07, for a total transaction of $553,657.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,931,080,275.97. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 52,577 shares of company stock worth $13,528,188 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9%

CRM opened at $248.0150 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50 day moving average is $258.37 and its 200-day moving average is $271.92. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. Analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

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.

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