Sanders Morris Harris LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 259.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,367 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 410.3% in the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Salesforce Stock Performance
Shares of CRM traded down $2.06 on Wednesday, reaching $235.95. 6,144,577 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,601,249. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $194.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.67. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.32 and a 52-week high of $269.11.
Salesforce Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 16.04%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price (up from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.12.
More Salesforce News
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Bank of America upgraded Salesforce to Buy and raised its price target to $285, arguing that AI should deepen customer dependence on the company’s platform. The double upgrade provided a recent boost to investor sentiment. Salesforce Gets a Rare BofA Double Upgrade
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce agreed to acquire AI-powered analytics platform Loops, strengthening its data and artificial-intelligence capabilities. The deal, alongside Salesforce’s Agentforce strategy, supports the company’s effort to make AI a larger growth driver. Salesforce to Buy AI-Powered Analytics Platform Loops
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce and DocuSign expanded their partnership to bring intelligent agreement management natively into Salesforce, Agentforce and Slack. The integration could increase platform usage and support AI-enabled workflows for enterprise customers. DocuSign and Salesforce Launch Intelligent Agreement Management
- Neutral Sentiment: Analysts comparing Salesforce with ServiceNow say Salesforce has an advantage from faster AI growth, stronger earnings-estimate revisions and a lower valuation. However, the comparison also highlights that the market is demanding clearer evidence of AI-related returns. Salesforce vs. ServiceNow
- Negative Sentiment: Investor skepticism about agentic AI is limiting the benefit of Salesforce’s strong earnings performance. Market participants want proof that AI adoption will materially increase revenue, margins and profits, rather than cannibalize existing software spending. This uncertainty is contributing to the stock’s recent weakness. Agentic AI Skepticism: Apple and Salesforce Face a Common Issue
Insider Activity
In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 4,176 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at $4,486,958.84. This represents a 28.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Salesforce
Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) develops cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software and enterprise applications. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, analytics, data integration and collaboration through subscription-based services.
The company’s product portfolio includes Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Salesforce Platform, Data Cloud and Tableau. Salesforce also offers MuleSoft integration technology, Slack collaboration software and artificial intelligence capabilities through its Einstein platform.
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