Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 52,695 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,804 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,695 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $75,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,823,481 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,221,275,000 after buying an additional 909,853 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,669,224,000 after acquiring an additional 114,504 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at $2,826,049,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 6.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,484,616,000 after acquiring an additional 600,386 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Salesforce by 26.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,755,317 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,087,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612,413 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit bought 96,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $260.58 per share, with a total value of $25,015,680.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,994,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $780,309,155.22. The trade was a 3.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total transaction of $31,605,171.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 139,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,803,314.90. The trade was a 49.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 182,034 shares of company stock valued at $43,297,979 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $259.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $221.96 and a one year high of $367.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $243.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.27. The company has a market capitalization of $242.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.25.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.39. Salesforce had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 17.91%.The business had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.41 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 22.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $264.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.65.

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.