Amundi Sells 824,506 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Salesforce stake by 18.4%, selling 824,506 shares during the first quarter while retaining 3.67 million shares valued at approximately $684.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.43% of Salesforce.
• Salesforce reported quarterly earnings of $3.88 per share on $11.13 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst estimates for both metrics, with revenue up 13.3% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $249.51, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Shares opened at $181.42, well below the 52-week high of $274.00.

Amundi lowered its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,666,193 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 824,506 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.45% of Salesforce worth $684,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 410.3% in the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $181.42 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.32 and a 1 year high of $274.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.08. The company has a market cap of $148.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.18. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 EPS 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (down from $287.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Macquarie Infrastructure reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.51.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A three-year U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs agreement with a potential value of $1.6 billion is strengthening Salesforce’s government-cloud narrative. The contract expands use of Missionforce, Agentforce, Slack, MuleSoft, Tableau and Data 360 across the VA’s nationwide network, highlighting demand for Salesforce’s AI agents and unified data platform. Will Salesforce’s (CRM) US$1.6 Billion VA AI Deal Redefine Its Government-Cloud Narrative?
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce was among the enterprise-software leaders in a broad rebound, with investors rotating toward companies positioned to benefit from AI adoption. The sector rally helped lift sentiment after a period of heavy selling. Salesforce Surges 7%, ServiceNow Jumps 8%, Workday Jumps 10% as Software Rebounds on AI Rotation
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary on Salesforce’s earnings move points to continued investor interest following its latest quarterly results, when the company exceeded consensus expectations for both earnings and revenue. The beat supports the view that cost discipline and AI-related products can drive growth. Why Did Salesforce Lead Index Gainers After Its Earnings Move?
• Neutral Sentiment: Night View Capital describes AI as a transformative, economy-wide technology and cites Salesforce as an important platform for corporate AI deployment. The discussion is supportive of the long-term thesis but does not represent a new contract or change to financial guidance. Salesforce’s Impact on AI Deployment in Corporate Environments
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” view, while investors weigh Salesforce against other beaten-down Dow companies as a potential dip-buying opportunity. Salesforce Receives Consensus Rating of Moderate Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the rebound, Salesforce remains well below its 52-week high, reflecting lingering concerns about software-sector valuations, competition and the pace at which AI investments translate into recurring revenue. Disney or Salesforce: Which Beaten-Down Dow Giant Is the Smarter Dip-Buy?

Salesforce 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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