Salesforce Inc. $CRM Stock: Summit Global Investments Trims Stake

Key Points

• Summit Global Investments reduced its Salesforce stake by 25.1% in the third quarter, selling 3,320 shares and retaining 9,907 shares valued at approximately $2.27 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.43% of Salesforce.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: Salesforce has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $278.98, with several firms recently raising targets or upgrading the stock.
• Salesforce’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with $5.90 in EPS versus the $3.27 consensus and revenue of $11.35 billion, up 10.8% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.44, yielding about 0.8% annually.

Summit Global Investments cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 25.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,907 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,320 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 410.3% in the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $610,974,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Wolfe Research upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.98.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $228.56 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.32 and a 52 week high of $269.11. The firm has a market cap of $188.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $238.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.88. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. The business'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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

More Salesforce News

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 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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