Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Reduces Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. cut its Salesforce stake by 45.4%, selling 3,323 shares and retaining 3,993 shares valued at about $946,000 at quarter-end.
• Major institutional investors largely added to positions—Vanguard, State Street and others increased holdings and Norges Bank bought a new stake—leaving 80.43% of the stock owned by institutions.
• Salesforce recently beat earnings (EPS $3.81 vs. $3.05), reported record revenue, announced a $50B buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44, boosting sentiment despite lingering AI and valuation risks.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co cut its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 45.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,993 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,323 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in Salesforce were worth $946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,572,253 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $21,228,624,000 after buying an additional 748,772 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,260,918 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $13,452,998,000 after purchasing an additional 776,300 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,669,224,000 after purchasing an additional 114,504 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at $2,826,049,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 26.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,755,317 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,087,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612,413 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings and market reaction — Salesforce reported an earnings beat and record revenue, and the stock has rebounded from recent lows as investors appear to be looking past worst‑case AI fears. This is the main driver of improving sentiment. Salesforce: A Week After Earnings, the Market Has Spoken
• Positive Sentiment: Large buyback and cash flow strength — Analysts highlight a meaningful free cash flow beat and Salesforce’s announcement of a massive $50B buyback, which can materially support share price and EPS over time. Salesforce: AI Disruption Fears Create Mispricing
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and bullish price targets — Multiple firms have reiterated or raised ratings (e.g., Phillip Securities maintained a Buy with a $253 target), helping lift investor confidence. Upgrades/price‑target moves are directly supportive of the rally. Phillip Securities Maintains a Buy on Salesforce (CRM)
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI momentum and partnerships — New AI initiatives (Agentforce) and a Formula 1 fan‑agent rollout show tangible go‑to‑market AI use cases that support long‑term monetization of AI features. Salesforce Inc. (CRM) Leverages AI to Transform Fan and Customer Engagement
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/industry writeups highlight momentum and valuation — Several outlets (Zacks) list Salesforce among software names positioned to benefit from a sector recovery; these articles boost visibility but provide less immediate price impact than earnings or buybacks. The Software Recovery Already Started: 5 Stocks to Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Geographic expansion — Reports noting the Philippines as a fast‑growing market signal incremental revenue opportunities but are less likely to move the stock near term. Philippines fastest-growing market for Salesforce in Southeast Asia
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing AI disruption and valuation concerns — Despite improving signals, investors remain wary that AI could compress demand or enable lower‑cost competitors; the stock still reflects a material YTD and 1‑year decline, keeping downside risk present. Is Salesforce (CRM) Pricing Reflect Its Cash Flow Outlook After Recent Share Price Weakness

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $202.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $186.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $217.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.57 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 22.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total value of $929,259.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,271.30. The trade was a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 1,936 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $258.64 per share, with a total value of $500,727.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,761,499.28. The trade was a 22.15% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.14.

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.

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