Park National Corp OH Boosts Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,198 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,666 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $30,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Painted Porch Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 260.0% in 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. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 383.3% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.00, for a total value of $31,598.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,085,096,889. This represents a 0.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit bought 96,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $260.58 per share, with a total value of $25,015,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,994,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $780,309,155.22. This trade represents a 3.31% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 175,284 shares of company stock worth $41,648,819 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $254.30 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G 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.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $264.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.46.

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.