Salesforce Inc. $CRM Stake Cut by S Bank Fund Management Ltd

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 7.2%, owning 20,376 shares valued at approximately $5.56 million after selling 1,589 shares in Q2.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Salesforce, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $328.22, following recent reports from firms like Macquarie and Wall Street Zen.
• Salesforce's most recent quarterly earnings showed a 9.8% year-over-year revenue growth, beating estimates with $10.24 billion in revenue and $2.91 EPS.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd cut its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 7.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,376 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,589 shares during the period. S Bank Fund Management Ltd's holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,383,942 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 6.9% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 600,386 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,014,148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,419,037,000 after buying an additional 437,435 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,039,196,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 4.9% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.45, for a total value of $532,012.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,816,490,962.95. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction 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 78,750 shares of company stock worth $19,572,233. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $236.60 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $244.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $225.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.19. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $226.48 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 24.13%.

Salesforce Company 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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