Legal & General Group Plc Acquires New Shares in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Legal & General Group acquired 5.92 million Salesforce shares worth approximately $927.3 million, giving it a 0.72% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.43% of the company.
• Salesforce exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $3.88 versus the $3.13 consensus, while revenue rose 13.3% year over year to $11.13 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.
• Wall Street maintains a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $249.87 price target. Analysts cite AI-driven growth and share repurchases as potential catalysts, while slower sales growth and elevated AI expectations remain key risks.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,919,390 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $927,332,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.72% of Salesforce as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 410.3% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during 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 $209.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $171.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.16. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.32 and a twelve month high of $269.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.44.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.27 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $255 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. The bullish view reflects confidence in Salesforce’s AI opportunity and earnings outlook. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: One analyst argues Salesforce remains undervalued, citing its AI-enabled growth potential, modest valuation and significant share repurchases. The company’s reported $27.5 billion buyback has reduced shares outstanding and could provide support for earnings per share and the stock. Salesforce Forcing Itself Higher Through Massive Buybacks And AI-Led Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect AI cloud demand, acquisitions and disciplined spending to support second-quarter results, with revenue growth forecast at approximately 10.6%. Salesforce is also being discussed as a potential beneficiary of broader enterprise AI adoption. Salesforce Set to Report Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce has rallied toward the $210 area and is testing a resistance zone near its June high. A strong earnings reaction could determine whether the recent advance continues or stalls. Salesforce Stock Hits a Crucial Resistance Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: The main risk is that Salesforce’s earnings report fails to demonstrate a meaningful sales-growth reacceleration. Analysts and investors remain cautious about slower software growth, elevated AI expectations and the possibility that the broader AI trade could weaken. Salesforce Earnings Due: Will Sales Growth Reacceleration Hold Up?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.87.

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source