Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,416 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,583 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.7% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Painted Porch Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% during the second quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 383.3% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 116 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.5%

Salesforce stock opened at $260.55 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $226.48 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $248.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $247.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.08.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 24.13%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.04, for a total transaction of $567,090.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,002,192,354.84. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 78,750 shares of company stock worth $19,372,928 in the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Northland Capmk lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.23.

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.