International Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases 421,987 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• International Assets Investment Management increased its Salesforce stake by 421,987 shares, a 14,005.5% boost, bringing its holdings to 425,000 shares valued at approximately $97.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.43% of Salesforce.
• Salesforce reported quarterly revenue of $11.35 billion and EPS of $5.90, surpassing analyst expectations, while revenue grew 10.8% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.44, yielding about 0.8% annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $278.98, although some analysts remain cautious and software-sector concerns have pressured the stock.

International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 14,005.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 425,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 421,987 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 0.7% of International Assets Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Salesforce worth $97,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 410.3% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. ABS Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $610,974,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $228.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $238.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.88. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.32 and a 1-year high of $269.11. The firm has a market cap of $188.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.26.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.91 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 16.04%.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rune Technologies, a defense-technology company. The deal supports Salesforce’s push into military and government applications, potentially expanding its addressable market and adding a specialized technology platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Rune Technologies
• Positive Sentiment: TPM Holdings completed an 18-month realignment centered on Salesforce CRM and artificial intelligence for the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Its combination of TrebleHook and The Hunley Group could expand Salesforce-based implementations and demonstrate growing demand for industry-specific AI tools. TPM Holdings Accelerates Investment in AI and Salesforce CRM
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and investment articles describe Salesforce as a potential AI rebound candidate, citing autonomous AI agents, improving monetization, strong free cash flow and its leadership in customer relationship management. These views may support longer-term sentiment, although they are not new company guidance. AI Comeback Story Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s earnings report is approaching, making upcoming revenue growth, AI adoption, margins and forward guidance the main near-term catalysts. The company’s latest reported quarter included revenue of $11.35 billion and adjusted earnings that exceeded consensus estimates. Salesforce Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce declined in sympathy with ServiceNow, Fortinet and other software stocks after investors focused on slower contracted-revenue growth despite earnings beats and higher AI targets. The reaction has renewed concerns about enterprise-software demand, AI monetization timelines and elevated sector valuations. ServiceNow Results Dent Software Stocks

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target (up from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. CLSA assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, July 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $289.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.98.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. This represents a 45.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 4,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. This trade represents a 28.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc NYSE: CRM is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company's products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.

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