Salesforce Inc. $CRM Stock Sold by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

Key Points

• New Mexico Educational Retirement Board cut its Salesforce position by 12.6% in the third quarter, selling 5,900 shares and retaining 40,786 shares worth about $9.36 million.
• Salesforce reported quarterly EPS of $5.90, beating the $3.27 consensus, while revenue of $11.35 billion was slightly above estimates and up 10.8% year over year.
• Analysts collectively rate Salesforce a Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $278.98; institutional investors own 80.43% of the stock.

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lessened its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,786 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 5,900 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,396,844,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Salesforce by 130.2% in 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter worth $1,914,086,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $927,332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $844,928,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $217.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $178.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.48. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.32 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Barclays lowered shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Salesforce from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.98.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,416,936.57. The trade was a 45.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 4,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $239.33 per share, with a total value of $999,442.08. Following the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here's some of the latest news about CRM:

• Positive Sentiment: Missionforce National Security received “Awardable” status in a federal solutions marketplace, giving Department of War organizations access to Salesforce’s recruiting capabilities. This could support government-sector opportunities, though the immediate financial impact is unclear. Missionforce National Security Achieves Awardable Status
• 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

Salesforce Company Profile

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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