Stephens Inc. AR Raises Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 4.0%, owning 105,517 shares worth approximately $28.77 million after acquiring an additional 4,037 shares in the second quarter.
• CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares valued at $543,352.50, which led to a slight decrease of 0.02% in his ownership of the stock, while Director David Blair Kirk significantly increased his stake by 801.89%.
• Salesforce's stock is currently down 1.1%, with a market cap of $231.59 billion and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, reflecting confidence in the company's future performance despite recent target price adjustments.

Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,517 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 4,037 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Salesforce were worth $28,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coign Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the first quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. KDT Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.49, for a total value of $543,352.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,876,525,280.79. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,500 shares of company stock worth $18,929,903. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.1%

CRM opened at $243.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.19. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $226.48 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $244.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $257.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. The firm'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. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 24.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Northland Securities downgraded Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $264.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $325.23.

About Salesforce

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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