Salesforce Inc. $CRM Stock Position Cut by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Howard Financial Services LTD. trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,499 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Coign Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $897,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. KDT Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the first quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Northland Securities lowered their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.58.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5%

CRM opened at $242.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $231.03 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22. 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 fifty-two week low of $226.48 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.21 and a 200-day moving average of $264.79.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.66, for a total transaction of $554,985.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,938,108,102.86. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,577 shares of company stock valued at $18,005,778. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.