Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Lowers Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its holdings in Salesforce shares by 6.6% during the first quarter, now owning 189,745 shares valued at approximately $50.9 million.
• Salesforce's stock has recently seen price target reductions from multiple analysts, with Barclays lowering their target from $425.00 to $347.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce at an average price of $260.30, reducing his overall ownership slightly while still holding approximately 11.96 million shares.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lowered its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 189,745 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 13,471 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.8% of Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $50,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,825,000 after buying an additional 2,436 shares during the period. Notis McConarty Edward boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,036,482 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $274,802,000 after buying an additional 15,782 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 43.0% during the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 104,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,133,000 after buying an additional 31,537 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 121.9% during the first quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $95,222,000 after buying an additional 195,000 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.49, for a total value of $543,352.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,876,525,280.79. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,782 shares of company stock valued at $12,626,046. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Stephens cut their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $342.89.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.6370 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.6070. The company had a trading volume of 8,584,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,236,251. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 month high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

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.