The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 342,054 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,945,661 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 342,054 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 0.7% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.31% of Salesforce worth $803,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,826,049,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 27,361.5% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $933,737,000 after buying an additional 3,411,700 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1,729.6% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,973,141 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $538,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,297 shares in the last quarter. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $467,944,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Salesforce by 26.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,755,317 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,087,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Capmk downgraded Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.46.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $260.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,015,680.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,994,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $780,309,155.22. This trade represents a 3.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 179,784 shares of company stock valued at $42,742,994 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $264.02 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.25. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.96 and a 52-week high of $367.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.