Riverbridge Partners LLC Cuts Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Riverbridge Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,259 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 13,185 shares during the quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $30,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24,056.7% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 47,385,511 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,552,896,000 after buying an additional 47,189,352 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $3,182,951,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 159.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,106,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,636,161 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 924.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,883,610 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,028,807,000 after acquiring an additional 3,504,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Salesforce by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,721,010 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,019,199,000 after acquiring an additional 2,669,891 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $153.27 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $176.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $125.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.32 and a twelve month high of $276.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is being highlighted by bullish commentators as a potential value opportunity near 52-week lows, with one article arguing that a large buyback “war chest” could support the stock if management accelerates repurchases. Salesforce: A No-Brainer ‘Buy’ At 52-Week Lows, Buyback War Chest Unleashed
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced a new partnership with the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula 1 Team to use Agentforce 360 for fan engagement and operations, which showcases real-world AI adoption and could help sentiment around its AI strategy. VCARB Partners with Salesforce to Supercharge Fan Engagement with AI, Deploying Agentforce 360
• Positive Sentiment: Truist reportedly kept a Buy rating on Salesforce, and commentators including Jim Cramer have pointed to the stock as potentially attractive after its steep decline. Jim Cramer Discusses Big Salesforce (CRM) Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce has been attracting unusually high investor attention on Zacks, but the note mainly points to increased interest rather than a clear new catalyst. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has been sliding amid a record losing streak, with investors worried that AI could pressure the traditional SaaS model and slow Salesforce’s growth outlook. Salesforce stock hits 52-week low amid record losing streak and AI fears
• Negative Sentiment: A separate report said Salesforce’s shares were sliding as the stock approached a record 14th consecutive daily loss, reinforcing weak momentum and bearish trading sentiment. Why Salesforce (CRM) shares are sliding today
• Negative Sentiment: A cybersecurity article noted that a Klue breach exposed Salesforce CRM data via stolen OAuth tokens, which could add to investor concerns about ecosystem security and customer trust. Klue breach exposed Salesforce CRM data through stolen OAuth tokens

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Salesforce from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.61.

About Salesforce

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.