Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $143.72 Million Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank reduced its stake in Salesforce by 18.1%, selling 120,264 shares and retaining 542,529 shares worth approximately $143.72 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Salesforce beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates (EPS $3.81 vs. $3.05 est.; revenue $11.20B), set FY2027 EPS guidance of 13.110–13.190, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44, and authorized a $25.00 billion share buyback program (~14.1% of shares).
• Company insiders bought shares recently (directors Laura Alber and David Blair Kirk each bought ~2,570 shares at about $194.6), indicating insider confidence in the stock.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 542,529 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 120,264 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Salesforce worth $143,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price target on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $279.18.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $182.13 on Monday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.52 and a 52 week high of $296.05. The company's 50 day moving average price is $187.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.96. The stock has a market cap of $149.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.54%.

Salesforce announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to purchase up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Profile

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.

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