Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $434.99 Million Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,594,500 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 486,585 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.6% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.17% of Salesforce worth $434,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% in the second quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in Salesforce by 383.3% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 116 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Twenty-five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.85, for a total value of $553,162.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,928,459,730.35. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 56,372 shares of company stock worth $13,941,863 over the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.1%

NYSE CRM opened at $233.75 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.96 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $222.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $244.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 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.