LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,947 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,992 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.9% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $23,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1,145.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,097,000 after buying an additional 12,017 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 98.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,085,000 after acquiring an additional 10,633 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co boosted its position in Salesforce by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $44,336,000 after acquiring an additional 4,233 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $113,420,000 after purchasing an additional 61,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.2% during the third quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $66,610,000 after purchasing an additional 83,403 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Trending Headlines about Salesforce
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings and market reaction — Salesforce reported an earnings beat and record revenue, and the stock has rebounded from recent lows as investors appear to be looking past worst?case AI fears. This is the main driver of improving sentiment. Salesforce: A Week After Earnings, the Market Has Spoken
- Positive Sentiment: Large buyback and cash flow strength — Analysts highlight a meaningful free cash flow beat and Salesforce’s announcement of a massive $50B buyback, which can materially support share price and EPS over time. Salesforce: AI Disruption Fears Create Mispricing
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and bullish price targets — Multiple firms have reiterated or raised ratings (e.g., Phillip Securities maintained a Buy with a $253 target), helping lift investor confidence. Upgrades/price?target moves are directly supportive of the rally. Phillip Securities Maintains a Buy on Salesforce (CRM)
- Positive Sentiment: Product/AI momentum and partnerships — New AI initiatives (Agentforce) and a Formula 1 fan?agent rollout show tangible go?to?market AI use cases that support long?term monetization of AI features. Salesforce Inc. (CRM) Leverages AI to Transform Fan and Customer Engagement
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/industry writeups highlight momentum and valuation — Several outlets (Zacks) list Salesforce among software names positioned to benefit from a sector recovery; these articles boost visibility but provide less immediate price impact than earnings or buybacks. The Software Recovery Already Started: 5 Stocks to Buy Now
- Neutral Sentiment: Geographic expansion — Reports noting the Philippines as a fast?growing market signal incremental revenue opportunities but are less likely to move the stock near term. Philippines fastest-growing market for Salesforce in Southeast Asia
- Negative Sentiment: Ongoing AI disruption and valuation concerns — Despite improving signals, investors remain wary that AI could compress demand or enable lower?cost competitors; the stock still reflects a material YTD and 1?year decline, keeping downside risk present. Is Salesforce (CRM) Pricing Reflect Its Cash Flow Outlook After Recent Share Price Weakness
Salesforce Price Performance
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.54%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.14.
View Our Latest Report on Salesforce
Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce
In related news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 1,936 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $258.64 per share, with a total value of $500,727.04. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,677 shares in the company, valued at $2,761,499.28. The trade was a 22.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total value of $929,259.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,271.30. This trade represents a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Salesforce Company Profile
Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.
Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.
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