Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,419,154 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 499,885 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.9% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.54% of Salesforce worth $824,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating and a $240 price target on Salesforce, citing AI momentum and growth tied to Agentforce, which reinforces the bullish long-term case for the stock. TD Cowen Reaffirms Buy Rating on Salesforce (CRM) as AI Momentum and Agentforce Drive Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Salesforce’s Agentforce and broader AI strategy suggests the company is still seen as a serious player in enterprise AI, which may help offset fears that legacy software growth is slowing. Salesforce Agentforce: A Comprehensive Enterprise Cheat Sheet and Review
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces argue Salesforce has been overly sold off and may be undervalued after its post-earnings decline, but these are more valuation arguments than fresh catalysts. Salesforce: Taking Advantage Of The Market’s Misunderstanding Of Enterprise Software
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s acquisition of m3ter to expand dynamic pricing tools adds to its AI CRM platform, but the immediate stock impact looks limited so far. Salesforce expands AI CRM with acquisition of m3ter for dynamic pricing
• Negative Sentiment: One article notes Salesforce is still down sharply since its last earnings report, reminding investors that sentiment remains fragile despite the recent rebound. Salesforce (CRM) Down 14.8% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Negative Sentiment: Another report says Salesforce is trying to defend its AI position with new tools for RIAs, but experts are raising concerns about cost, implementation, and benefits, which could limit enthusiasm. Salesforce tries to catch up on AI — and halt precipitous stock slide — with launch of ‘Agentic Advisor’ for RIAs

Salesforce Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $158.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $175.56 and a 200-day moving average of $201.20. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.32 and a 52-week high of $276.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on CRM shares. Piper Sandler cut shares of Salesforce from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Salesforce from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright downgraded Salesforce to a “negative” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.61.

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.