Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 171,020 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management reduced its Salesforce stake by 12.7%, selling 171,020 shares during the first quarter and retaining 1.17 million shares worth approximately $218.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.43% of Salesforce.
• Salesforce exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.88 in adjusted EPS versus the $3.13 consensus and $11.13 billion in revenue, up 13.3% year over year. The company also pays a $0.44 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.1% annually.
• Despite shares opening at $163.65—well below the 12-month high of $274—analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $249.51. Recent developments include a potential $1.6 billion Veterans Affairs contract supporting Salesforce’s government and AI growth strategy.

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,172,071 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 171,020 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Salesforce worth $218,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank increased its holdings in Salesforce by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 10,198 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $163.65 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $170.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.31. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.32 and a twelve month high of $274.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie Infrastructure dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock 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. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Salesforce from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wedbush initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $194.00 to $173.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.51.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs awarded it a $1.6 billion, three-year agreement to help modernize veteran care and services through its Missionforce platform, a major enterprise and government win that could support future revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted Salesforce as part of a broader rally in enterprise software tied to government AI deals, suggesting investors are rewarding the company’s AI-driven growth story and large-addressable-market opportunity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce also announced equity awards for new employees joining from the acquisitions of Qualified and MeshMesh, reinforcing that the company is still using M&A and talent integration to expand its product capabilities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces discussed Salesforce’s longer-term outlook and AI platform strategy, including third-party takes on catalysts and new apps built on Salesforce, which support the stock’s narrative but are less immediate drivers than the VA deal. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One article flagged a “critical security test” for Salesforce, which could raise investor concerns about execution and platform trust, though it is not as immediate as the contract news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce was also mentioned in a piece about the company falling more than the broader market the prior day, reflecting that the stock has still been under pressure despite the recent upbeat headlines. Article Title

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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