K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Purchases New Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• K.J. Harrison & Partners purchased a new position of 11,306 shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in Q4, worth about $2.995 million, while institutional investors now own roughly 80.43% of the company.
• Salesforce's Board approved a $25 billion share buyback program (up to ~14.1% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.44 ($1.76 annualized), signaling a major return of capital to shareholders.
• Salesforce topped Q4 estimates with EPS of $3.81 vs. $3.05 and revenue of $11.20 billion (up 12.1% YoY); analysts retain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target near $279.18.

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,306 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,995,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in Salesforce by 1,145.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 12,017 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 98.3% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,085,000 after buying an additional 10,633 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co grew 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 worth $44,336,000 after buying an additional 4,233 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 15.1% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $113,420,000 after buying an additional 61,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $66,610,000 after acquiring an additional 83,403 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reoriented around AI agents and launched Agentforce Operations to automate cross-system back-office work — a strategic shift that underpins Salesforce’s long-term growth story and supports upgraded revenue targets. Salesforce (CRM) Launches Agentforce Operations to Automate Complex Cross-System Back-Office Tasks
• Positive Sentiment: Deeper Google Cloud integration and new AI-focused revenue segments are being highlighted as catalysts that could expand addressable market and support valuation upside as agents get traction. Salesforce (CRM) Valuation Check As AI Agent Push And Google Cloud Integration Gain Traction
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial traction: Merck Animal Health selected Salesforce’s Agentforce Life Sciences for customer engagement, signaling enterprise demand for the new agent-driven offerings. Merck Animal Health Selects Salesforce’s Agentforce Life Sciences for Customer Engagement to Transform Animal Care and Enhance Support Experiences for Employees
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional/analyst support: Barclays named CRM a top pick in infrastructure software and high-profile investors have touted the name; sell-side consensus remains “Buy,” which can provide a floor for sentiment. Is the Market Missing the Point on Salesforce Inc (CRM)’s AI Positioning?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings are positive on average, but some commentary warns that consensus recommendations can be overly optimistic — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Wall Street Analysts See Salesforce (CRM) as a Buy: Should You Invest?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and peer comparisons (e.g., CRM vs. SPOT) are being debated — useful for longer-term allocation decisions but mixed in terms of near-term price impact. CRM vs. SPOT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are down despite broader market gains; investors are likely taking profits and reacting to the stock’s weak year-to-date performance and lingering valuation concerns. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note
• Negative Sentiment: Competition with Microsoft and other large cloud/AI players is intensifying around AI agents — the rivalry increases execution risk and could pressure multiples if market leaders consolidate share. Salesforce and Microsoft escalate AI agent rivalry in CRM

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.1%

NYSE CRM opened at $181.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.14. The business's 50-day moving average price is $186.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The company had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

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

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 22.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $281.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.18.

About Salesforce

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CRM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report).

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.