Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,611,540 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,635 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.4% of Legal & General Group Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,802,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 87,331 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $23,814,000 after buying an additional 3,387 shares in the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 148,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $40,427,000 after acquiring an additional 12,544 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30.1% during 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, Andra AP fonden grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 34.4% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 174,145 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $47,488,000 after purchasing an additional 44,600 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Salesforce from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.09, for a total transaction of $551,452.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 60,872 shares of company stock worth $15,058,156 over the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $225.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.30 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $245.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.54. The firm has a market cap of $214.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. 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 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 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.