Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 22,113 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 371,094 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,113 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $101,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 314.8% during the first 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. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Salesforce by 383.3% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 116 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.39, for a total transaction of $545,377.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,887,245,694.69. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,077 shares of company stock valued at $19,099,953. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.58.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $242.00 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $251.39 and a 200-day moving average of $263.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $230.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.22. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.