Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,853,445 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 394,208 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.6% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.19% of Salesforce worth $439,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 267.3% in the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 48,821 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,101,000 after purchasing an additional 35,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $6,914,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Salesforce from $316.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.46.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $255.22 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.96 and a 12-month high of $367.09. 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 market capitalization of $239.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $245.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.76.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 139,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,803,314.90. This represents a 49.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $260.58 per share, with a total value of $25,015,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,994,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $780,309,155.22. This represents a 3.31% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 175,284 shares of company stock worth $41,648,819 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.