Sciencast Management LP Acquires 2,865 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP significantly increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. by 365.9% during the 1st quarter, acquiring a total of 3,648 shares valued at $979,000.
• Salesforce's CEO, Marc Benioff, sold 2,250 shares of the company for approximately $578,295, now holding 11.9 million shares valued at over $3 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, to be paid on October 9th, with a current dividend yield of 0.7%.

Sciencast Management LP boosted its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 365.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,648 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,865 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP's holdings in Salesforce were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.58.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $3.66 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $246.23. The stock had a trading volume of 5,074,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,542,563. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $226.48 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $254.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 24.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.12, for a total transaction of $565,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,991,233,709.52. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 68,327 shares of company stock valued at $17,450,793. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce 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.