Dearborn Partners LLC Takes Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners acquired 3,845 Salesforce shares worth approximately $602,000 during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 80.43% of the company.
• Salesforce reported adjusted quarterly EPS of $5.90, well above the $3.27 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 10.8% year over year to $11.35 billion.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $261.15 price target, although opinions range from $160 to $315 and some investors remain cautious about valuation and the sustainability of AI-related gains.

Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,845 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $602,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 285.7% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. CLSA initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $261.15.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of CRM opened at $256.60 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $181.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.55. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.32 and a twelve month high of $269.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.16.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%.The company had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly beat and raised outlook: Salesforce reported adjusted EPS of $5.90 versus the $3.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $11.35 billion, broadly topping expectations. Management raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to approximately $46.1 billion-$46.4 billion and pointed to stronger bookings, lower attrition and potential organic growth reacceleration. Salesforce Stock Soars After Strong Results, Raised Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI partnership strengthens the growth narrative: Salesforce expanded its alliance with Anthropic, integrating Claude into Agentforce and launching “Claudeforce,” which places Salesforce CRM capabilities inside Claude. Investors viewed the agreement as evidence that Salesforce can monetize AI and benefit from rising usage; Agentforce and Data 360 annual recurring revenue approached $3.9 billion, with Agentforce ARR reaching about $1.5 billion. Salesforce Soars on Earnings Beat and AI Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: Wolfe Research upgraded CRM to “strong buy,” while several firms raised price targets, including Truist to $300, JPMorgan to $265 and Mizuho to $265. Heavy trading and reports of institutional buying suggest investors are reassessing the stock’s valuation and the broader software sector’s AI prospects.
• Neutral Sentiment: Profit quality warrants scrutiny: Strategic investment gains contributed $2.53 of the $5.90 adjusted EPS, including an estimated $2.7 billion unrealized gain tied to Salesforce’s Anthropic investment. This boosted reported earnings but may not represent recurring operating performance. Salesforce Stock Just Soared. Thank Anthropic.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks remain: After the rally, some analysts still see limited upside or downside, with UBS, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo retaining neutral or equivalent ratings. Critics also caution that Anthropic could control the AI orchestration layer, potentially limiting Salesforce’s long-term strategic leverage, while the rapid move may already price in much of the AI opportunity.

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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