DnB Asset Management AS Trims Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS reduced its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 62.5%, selling 334,930 shares and retaining 201,107 shares, valued at approximately $53.97 million.
• A number of other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have increased their stakes in Salesforce, with Vanguard owning 87.91 million shares, worth $23.59 billion.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Salesforce's stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $336.21, while Oppenheimer has decreased its price objective to $315.00.

DnB Asset Management AS lowered its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 62.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,107 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 334,930 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Salesforce were worth $53,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $467,944,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 1,744.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,820,262 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $488,486,000 after buying an additional 1,721,550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $6.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $250.40. 13,010,920 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,763,446. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $255.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.68. The stock has a market cap of $239.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 16.87%.The company's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Bank of America cut their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $331.34.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,061,511,978.42. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 66,077 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,773 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

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.