Swedbank AB Grows Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 2.4%, acquiring an additional 70,815 shares, bringing its total to 3,024,858 shares, which is 0.9% of Swedbank's investment portfolio.
• Salesforce reported earnings per share of $2.91, exceeding expectations and demonstrating a 9.8% year-over-year revenue growth, generating $10.24 billion during the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, which will be paid on October 9th, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.66 and a yield of 0.7%.

Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,024,858 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 70,815 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.9% of Swedbank AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.32% of Salesforce worth $824,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1,004.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 120,615 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $40,325,000 after purchasing an additional 109,699 shares during the period. Finally, Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 2,507 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.58.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.09, for a total transaction of $551,452.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,919,406,936.39. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,327 shares of company stock worth $19,651,406 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $2.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $247.04. The company had a trading volume of 11,772,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,963,242. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.48 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $235.18 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.22. The business's 50-day moving average is $250.77 and its 200 day moving average is $262.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $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, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.13%.

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.