Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Buys 1,828 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 132,350 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $36,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,823,481 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $24,221,275,000 after purchasing an additional 909,853 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,669,224,000 after buying an additional 114,504 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,484,616,000 after buying an additional 600,386 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,014,148 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,419,037,000 after acquiring an additional 437,435 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth about $2,039,196,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $226.75 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.94. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.96 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. The business’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. Analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.19, for a total transaction of $558,427.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,956,332,806.49. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,622 shares of company stock worth $14,501,123. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on CRM shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Northland Capmk lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.51.

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.