Danske Bank A S Invests $199.10 Million in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S bought a new stake of 840,065 shares of Salesforce valued at about $199.10 million, making CRM 0.5% of Danske Bank’s portfolio and its 28th largest holding.
• Salesforce authorized a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase (initial delivery ~103M shares) that should boost EPS and signal management confidence, but the program was largely debt-funded, materially increasing leverage and interest‑rate exposure.
• Salesforce reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results (EPS $3.81 vs. $3.05 est.), raised FY2027 guidance (EPS 13.110–13.190), and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 ($1.76 annualized), while analysts maintain a generally positive consensus.

Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 840,065 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $199,095,000. Salesforce makes up 0.5% of Danske Bank A S's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Danske Bank A S owned about 0.09% of Salesforce at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Country Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 658.8% in the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $195.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.57 and a 12-month high of $296.05.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 22.54%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,271.30. The trade was a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.21.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce has launched a record $25 billion accelerated share repurchase (ASR), with initial delivery of roughly 103 million shares, which should boost EPS and signal management confidence. Salesforce Commences Largest-Ever $25 Billion Accelerated Share Repurchase
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced a major AI partnership with NVIDIA to embed AI agents into workflows — a strategic move that could deepen product differentiation and drive enterprise demand for AI-enabled CRM. Salesforce Teams with NVIDIA to Bring AI Agents into the Flow of Work
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and brokers are endorsing the capital-allocation move: Truist reiterated a Buy and other analyst notes highlight management conviction in growth and EPS accretion from buybacks. Analyst support can underpin sentiment and price targets. Salesforce (CRM) Gets Buy Rating on Capital Allocation Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and strategy pieces are parsing the company’s “doubling down” on AI and buybacks; these provide context but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Salesforce: Doubling Down In A Time Of Uncertainty
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst roundups and investor interest pieces are elevating attention on CRM; heightened searches and AP coverage can increase short-term trading volume but are information, not a catalyst per se. Analysts Offer Insights on Technology Companies: Salesforce (CRM)
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce funded the ASR largely with a multi-tranche debt package (senior notes maturing 2028–2066 and a new $6B term loan), significantly increasing leverage and interest exposure — a structural risk if growth/ cash generation slows or rates rise. The Bull Case For Salesforce (CRM) Could Change Following Debt-Funded $25 Billion Buyback And Refinancing Transaction
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns the large, debt-funded buyback could change the bull case by concentrating risk in the capital structure — investors are re-pricing that trade-off today. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Climbs on Historic $25B Share Repurchase Launch

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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