Sovran Advisors LLC Acquires 1,461 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Sovran Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 41.4%, acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 4,987 shares valued at approximately $1.37 million.
• Several brokerages have recently revised their price targets for Salesforce, with Oppenheimer reducing it from $370.00 to $315.00, while Deutsche Bank lowered their target from $400.00 to $340.00, reflecting a cautious outlook.
• Salesforce's CEO, Marc Benioff, sold 2,250 shares in July, representing a 0.02% decrease in his ownership, while a Director purchased 3,400 shares, marking an 801.89% increase in their position.

Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 41.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,987 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Stephens dropped 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. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce 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 transaction of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,061,511,978.42. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 75,077 shares of company stock valued at $19,099,953. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $244.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $251.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.25. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS 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. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.13%.

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.

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