Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc Cuts Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,224 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,442 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 2.6% of Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Salesforce by 10.6% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 386,952 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $105,518,000 after acquiring an additional 37,062 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in Salesforce by 96.5% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 52,419 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $14,294,000 after purchasing an additional 25,738 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 53.7% during the second quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC now owns 3,077 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.3% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 749 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, October 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.67, for a total transaction of $557,257.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,950,138,789.57. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,500 shares of company stock worth $18,819,383 in the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE CRM opened at $254.93 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $226.48 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.05, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $246.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.12.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior 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, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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