Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 12,643 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Metis Global Partners LLC increased its Salesforce stake by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,643 shares and bringing its total holdings to 68,820 shares worth about $18.2 million.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.88 versus $3.13 expected and revenue of $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year over year.
• The company has a $25 billion share repurchase program in place and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, yielding about 1.0% annually.

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,820 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 12,643 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $2,944,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Salesforce by 40.9% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 897,917 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $212,806,000 after purchasing an additional 260,710 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in Salesforce by 27.7% during the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 182,428 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $43,235,000 after purchasing an additional 39,600 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,075 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,365,000 after acquiring an additional 3,491 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 21.0% in the third quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations now owns 43,767 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $10,373,000 after acquiring an additional 7,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $171.22 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.16. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $163.52 and a one year high of $276.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.Salesforce's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.3 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is getting credit for expanding its AI monetization strategy by acquiring m3ter, a usage-based metering and billing platform. The deal should help integrate consumption pricing into Agentforce Revenue Management, which could support revenue growth from AI products and make Salesforce more flexible for customers shifting away from pure subscription billing. Salesforce m3ter Deal Highlights Shift Toward Usage Based AI Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg-reported news that Salesforce’s stake in Anthropic has grown to about $5 billion reinforces the company’s AI exposure and may boost investor confidence that management has a meaningful position in one of the leading AI startups. Salesforce’s Anthropic Stake Reportedly Reaches $5 Billion as AI Startup Eyes IPO, Bloomberg Reports
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks note highlighted that Salesforce is trading near a 52-week low while Agentforce ARR is rising sharply and growth appears to be re-accelerating, suggesting the stock may look inexpensive relative to its long-term AI opportunity. Salesforce Trades Near 52-Week Low: Time to Hold the Stock or Exit?
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s presentation at the Mizuho Technology Conference did not include a clear new catalyst in the provided summary, but it kept management visible to investors amid heightened scrutiny on execution. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Presents at Mizuho Technology Conference 2026 Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party coverage also pointed to improving earnings quality and positive market reaction to the latest results, which supports the view that the company still has fundamental strength despite the recent pullback. Shareholders Can Be Confident That Salesforce's NYSE: CRM Earnings Are High Quality
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports about layoffs and severance packages are likely weighing on sentiment, as they underscore cost-cutting pressure and suggest management is still adjusting the workforce around slower-than-hoped AI adoption. Salesforce lays off employees in a new round of cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Articles noting AI competition pressure and a stock slide despite the earnings beat suggest investors remain concerned that rivals are limiting Salesforce’s growth outlook, even after strong quarterly results. AI Competition Pressured Salesforce (CRM) in Q1
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of layoffs amid AI concerns and a sharply lower stock price reflects continuing market skepticism about whether Salesforce’s AI investments will translate into faster near-term growth. Salesforce lays off 86 employees amid AI concerns, stock down 30%

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $200.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.26.

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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