Salesforce Inc. $CRM Stock: Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Holdings

Key Points

• Maryland’s pension system increased its Salesforce stake by 13.3% in the third quarter, adding 5,728 shares to hold 48,789 shares worth about $11.2 million.
• Salesforce reported quarterly earnings of $5.90 per share, beating the $3.27 analyst consensus; revenue of $11.35 billion rose 10.8% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $278.98. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% yield.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,789 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,728 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $26,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 4,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at $4,486,958.84. The trade was a 28.66% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $217.35 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $236.99 and a 200-day moving average of $198.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.32 and a 12-month high of $269.11. The company has a market capitalization of $178.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. The business had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Salesforce News Summary

Here's some of the latest news about CRM:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce’s free cash flow supports substantial share buybacks and dividends, potentially sustaining shareholder returns. However, slower growth projections raise questions about how durable those payouts will be. CRM's Cash Flow Strength: Can It Sustain Big Shareholder Returns?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage highlighted Salesforce’s value-stock characteristics and argued its shares may be undervalued, while noting that leverage concerns persist. Salesforce Stock Looks Undervalued Even As Leverage Concerns Linger
• Negative Sentiment: S&P cut Salesforce’s credit rating to A, citing concerns linked to deals and the company’s planned $25 billion buyback. The downgrade spotlights potential balance-sheet and capital-allocation risks. Salesforce Sinks as S&P Cuts Its Rating to A on Deals and a $25 Billion Buyback

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price (up from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Argus increased their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Monday, October 12th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.98.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc. is a cloud-based software company best known for customer relationship management (CRM) tools. Its platform helps businesses manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce and customer data, and includes products such as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Data Cloud and Agentforce. The company also offers Slack for workplace collaboration, Tableau for data analytics and visualization, and MuleSoft for connecting applications and data. Salesforce's products are used by organizations across a range of industries and are available to customers around the world.

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