Franklin Resources Inc. Has $1.92 Billion Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,023,700 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 918,091 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.73% of Salesforce worth $1,915,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% in the second quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Salesforce by 383.3% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 116 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday. Bank of America dropped their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.51.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.0%

CRM opened at $225.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. 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 twelve month low of $223.30 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.54.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its 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 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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. Analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.00, for a total transaction of $31,598.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,085,096,889. The trade was a 0.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,872 shares of company stock valued at $15,058,156. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.