Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

Key Points

• SFE Investment Counsel cut its Salesforce stake by 73% in the third quarter, selling 9,747 shares and retaining 3,606 shares valued at approximately $828,000.
• Salesforce reported quarterly revenue of $11.35 billion and earnings of $5.90 per share, surpassing analyst expectations; revenue increased 10.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Salesforce receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $278.98, compared with its cited share price of $228.56.

SFE Investment Counsel lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 73.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,606 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 9,747 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Salesforce were worth $828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,396,844,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Salesforce by 130.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,659,217 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,363,096,000 after acquiring an additional 7,160,302 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Salesforce by 28.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,724,790 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,188,666,000 after acquiring an additional 2,561,923 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $927,332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $844,928,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $228.56 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $146.32 and a one year high of $269.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $238.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 17th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 4,176 shares of Salesforce 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 price target on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $222.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.98.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rune Technologies, a defense-technology company. The deal supports Salesforce’s push into military and government applications, potentially expanding its addressable market and adding a specialized technology platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Rune Technologies
• Positive Sentiment: TPM Holdings completed an 18-month realignment centered on Salesforce CRM and artificial intelligence for the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Its combination of TrebleHook and The Hunley Group could expand Salesforce-based implementations and demonstrate growing demand for industry-specific AI tools. TPM Holdings Accelerates Investment in AI and Salesforce CRM
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and investment articles describe Salesforce as a potential AI rebound candidate, citing autonomous AI agents, improving monetization, strong free cash flow and its leadership in customer relationship management. These views may support longer-term sentiment, although they are not new company guidance. AI Comeback Story Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s earnings report is approaching, making upcoming revenue growth, AI adoption, margins and forward guidance the main near-term catalysts. The company’s latest reported quarter included revenue of $11.35 billion and adjusted earnings that exceeded consensus estimates. Salesforce Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce declined in sympathy with ServiceNow, Fortinet and other software stocks after investors focused on slower contracted-revenue growth despite earnings beats and higher AI targets. The reaction has renewed concerns about enterprise-software demand, AI monetization timelines and elevated sector valuations. ServiceNow Results Dent Software Stocks

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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