Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Daiwa Securities Group increased its Salesforce stake by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 256,869 shares valued at about $68.0 million. The filing also showed that institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 80.43% of the stock.
• Salesforce’s latest quarter beat expectations, reporting $3.88 EPS versus $3.13 expected and revenue of $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year over year. The company also raised/outlined forward guidance, with FY2027 EPS guidance of 14.06 to 14.12.
• The company has launched a $25 billion share buyback and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, yielding about 0.9%. Meanwhile, analysts remain mixed but generally constructive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $257.97.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 256,869 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,802 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $68,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,145.6% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 12,017 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 98.3% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,085,000 after purchasing an additional 10,633 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the third quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $44,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,233 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 64.2% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,111 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,149,000 after purchasing an additional 11,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $785,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:CRM opened at $189.05 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 and a 12 month high of $276.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.06. 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 capitalization of $154.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.16.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business'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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.37%.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being lifted by Salesforce’s expanding AI push, especially the momentum around Agentforce and the company’s investment in Anthropic, which could strengthen its long-term growth narrative. Assessing Salesforce NYSE: CRM Valuation After AI Agentforce Momentum And Anthropic Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlight Agentforce ARR surpassing $1 billion and growing rapidly, reinforcing the view that Salesforce’s AI products are already contributing meaningful traction and may support future revenue growth. Salesforce's Agentforce ARR Tops $1B: Can It Fuel More Growth for CRM?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst-style commentary also frames Salesforce as a strong momentum and value stock, suggesting the market may still be revising its view upward after the company’s recent operating updates and conference commentary. Here's Why Salesforce (CRM) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s presentations at the Evercore and Bank of America technology conferences likely helped keep the company in focus, but the transcripts themselves do not appear to introduce a major new catalyst. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Presents at 2026 Evercore Global TMT Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation-focused articles suggest the stock is being re-rated after recent volatility, with investors weighing strong AI momentum against an already improved share price. Is There Now an Opportunity in Salesforce (CRM) After Recent Share Price Volatility
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party product news, such as Flosum’s backup and archive update for Salesforce customers, is supportive of the ecosystem but unlikely to move CRM shares materially on its own. Flosum Updates Backup & Archive Solution for Salesforce with Legal Hold, Flexible Retention, and Faster Recovery
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary notes that Salesforce still faces questions around valuation and execution after a sharp run-up, so any disappointment in bookings or AI monetization could pressure the shares. Salesforce: Catch-Up Rally Will Continue; Bookings Rebound Expected In H2

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.97.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.