ARS Investment Partners LLC Grows Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its Salesforce stake by 31.5% in the first quarter, adding 18,710 shares to reach 78,055 shares worth about $14.6 million.
• Salesforce beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.88 EPS versus the $3.13 estimate and revenue of $11.13 billion, with sales up 13.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but mostly positive: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy,” though some firms recently cut ratings or price targets while others raised theirs.

ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 31.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,055 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 18,710 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Piper Sandler cut Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.61.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $151.67 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.35. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.80 and a 12 month high of $276.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $124.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.16.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Salesforce to buy from neutral and set a $200 price target, signaling roughly 32% upside and citing valuation appeal plus AI-related gains. Monness upgrades Salesforce stock on valuation, AI gains; sees 31% upside
• Positive Sentiment: Truist reiterated confidence in Salesforce following its $3.6 billion acquisition of Fin, a move that could strengthen the company’s AI/customer-agent product lineup. Salesforce (CRM) Earns Vote of Confidence from Truist after $3.6 Billion Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Salesforce as a long-term growth name and an AI beneficiary, with bullish coverage around its Agentforce strategy and generative AI positioning. Why Salesforce (CRM) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparison pieces versus Oracle and broad stock-picking articles suggest investors are weighing Salesforce’s slower recent performance against its AI growth narrative rather than reacting to a single new catalyst. Oracle vs. Salesforce: Which Tech Giant Is The Better Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: A recent commentary noted that Salesforce stock has fallen sharply this year, reflecting investor concern about execution, growth expectations, and the company’s discounted valuation versus past highs. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Plunges 41% This Year — A Buying Opportunity Emerges?

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.

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