Hsbc Holdings PLC Lowers Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC cut its Salesforce stake by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 264,007 shares and leaving it with 2.76 million shares valued at about $729.9 million.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive on Salesforce despite some mixed target cuts, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.61.
• Salesforce posted solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while also highlighting shareholder returns through a quarterly dividend and a $25 billion share repurchase program.

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,755,007 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 264,007 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.30% of Salesforce worth $729,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Salesforce from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.61.

Salesforce News Summary

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 Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $151.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.16. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.80 and a 1-year high of $276.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.42 and a 200 day moving average of $204.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Salesforce declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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