Wright Investors Service Inc. Trims Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in Salesforce Inc. by 71%, now holding a total of 4,291 shares valued at approximately $1.17 million.
• Salesforce recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, indicating a yield of 0.7%, with the payment scheduled for October 9th.
• Salesforce reported earnings of $2.91 per share in its latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue growth of 9.8% year-over-year.

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 71.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,291 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 10,499 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $1,675,000. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.9% in the second quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 20,162 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.8% in the second quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 30.1% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 27,786 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $7,577,000 after purchasing an additional 6,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 302.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,459,237 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $397,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,369 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director directly owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.09, for a total value of $551,452.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,919,406,936.39. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,327 shares of company stock worth $19,651,406 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.58.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded up $2.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $247.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,772,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,963,242. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $250.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.48 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 24.13%.

Salesforce Company 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.