Salesforce Inc. $CRM Stock: SFE Investment Counsel Decreases Position

SFE Investment Counsel lowered its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,606 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 9,747 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fluent Financial LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,265,000. TAM Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,945,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 127,739 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $23,846,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 184.5% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 17,983 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 11,663 shares during the period. Finally, Next Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $228.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $188.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average is $238.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.88. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.32 and a 52-week high of $269.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. The business had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. Analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 16.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 4,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $239.33 per share, with a total value of $999,442.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. The trade was a 28.66% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rune Technologies, a defense-technology company. The deal supports Salesforce’s push into military and government applications, potentially expanding its addressable market and adding a specialized technology platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Rune Technologies
• Positive Sentiment: TPM Holdings completed an 18-month realignment centered on Salesforce CRM and artificial intelligence for the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Its combination of TrebleHook and The Hunley Group could expand Salesforce-based implementations and demonstrate growing demand for industry-specific AI tools. TPM Holdings Accelerates Investment in AI and Salesforce CRM
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and investment articles describe Salesforce as a potential AI rebound candidate, citing autonomous AI agents, improving monetization, strong free cash flow and its leadership in customer relationship management. These views may support longer-term sentiment, although they are not new company guidance. AI Comeback Story Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s earnings report is approaching, making upcoming revenue growth, AI adoption, margins and forward guidance the main near-term catalysts. The company’s latest reported quarter included revenue of $11.35 billion and adjusted earnings that exceeded consensus estimates. Salesforce Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce declined in sympathy with ServiceNow, Fortinet and other software stocks after investors focused on slower contracted-revenue growth despite earnings beats and higher AI targets. The reaction has renewed concerns about enterprise-software demand, AI monetization timelines and elevated sector valuations. ServiceNow Results Dent Software Stocks

Salesforce Profile

Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company’s products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.