Prudential PLC Raises Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 156,714 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,505 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $42,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Painted Porch Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% during the 2nd 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 increased its stake in Salesforce by 314.8% in 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 last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Salesforce by 383.3% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 116 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 126 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,887,245,694.69. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,122 shares of company stock valued at $15,615,413. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Northland Securities lowered shares of Salesforce from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $264.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Twenty-five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $227.59 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.75. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $225.06 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 24.13%.

About Salesforce

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.