Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Grows Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 65.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 321,579 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 126,924 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $60,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $165.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $135.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.94. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $146.32 and a one year high of $276.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Salesforce announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce to Buy and argued the stock’s recent weakness offers a better buying opportunity, helping fuel a rebound in CRM shares. Salesforce Will Face AI Disruption but Stock Still Gets an Upgrade to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Salesforce’s Data 360 momentum, AI-driven recurring revenue growth, and potential Informatica synergies as reasons fiscal 2027 revenue growth could improve. Can Salesforce’s Data 360 Momentum Drive Stronger FY27 Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Citizens reiterated a Market Outperform rating after Salesforce’s Fin acquisition and Agentforce expansion, reinforcing the bullish AI/productivity narrative. Citizens Reiterates Market Outperform Rating on Salesforce (CRM) Following Fin Acquisition and Agentforce Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles noted that Salesforce remains a popular analyst consensus pick, with a “Moderate Buy” view broadly still in place. Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upgrade-driven bounce, Salesforce has still been hit by heavy recent selling, with coverage noting it fell more than 10% over the past month and lost over 25% in June, underscoring investor concern about the pace of growth. Salesforce (CRM) Down More Than 10% Over the Past Month, Here’s What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary suggested AI expectations may be getting ahead of fundamentals, with analysts debating whether Salesforce’s valuation still fully reflects slower near-term growth. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Sees Modest Fair Value Cut As Analysts Debate AI Growth

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.42.

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.