The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 7.5% in Q1 2023, holding approximately $698.70 million worth of shares.
• Salesforce reported earnings of $2.58 per share for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.6%.
• Numerous analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Salesforce shares, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $340.43.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,603,607 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 182,474 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.7% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.27% of Salesforce worth $698,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,061,511,978.42. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,201,738. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. DA Davidson raised Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $341.47.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded up $1.84 on Friday, reaching $256.37. The company had a trading volume of 7,354,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,243,193. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.48 and a 1 year 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. The company's fifty day moving average is $257.34 and its 200 day moving average is $269.27. The company has a market cap of $245.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

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.