AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 636,148 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 120.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,165,101 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 636,148 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Salesforce worth $317,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 909,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,260,918 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,452,998,000 after purchasing an additional 776,300 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,669,224,000 after buying an additional 114,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth $2,826,049,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 600,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 96,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $260.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,015,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,994,509 shares in the company, valued at $780,309,155.22. The trade was a 3.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total transaction of $31,605,171.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 139,767 shares in the company, valued at $32,803,314.90. The trade was a 49.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 177,534 shares of company stock valued at $42,194,197. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. 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 report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Salesforce from $316.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, November 24th. Twenty-eight 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.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.46.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.0%

CRM opened at $262.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $245.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $252.26. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $221.96 and a one year high of $367.09.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Salesforce Company 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.