MUFG Securities EMEA plc Purchases 183,730 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its Salesforce stake by 320.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 183,730 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 241,028 shares worth about $63.9 million.
• Salesforce reported a strong quarter, with revenue up 13.3% to $11.13 billion and EPS of $3.88, both ahead of estimates. The company also said Agentforce ARR surpassed $1 billion and raised its FY2027 revenue guidance.
• The company is returning capital to shareholders through a $25 billion share repurchase program and a new quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, while analysts remain mixed but broadly constructive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 320.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 241,028 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 183,730 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 0.7% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Salesforce were worth $63,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1,145.6% in the third 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. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 98.3% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,085,000 after acquiring an additional 10,633 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,233 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 61,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 42.2% during the third quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $66,610,000 after acquiring an additional 83,403 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

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

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce beat fiscal Q1 expectations, with revenue rising 13% year over year to $11.13 billion and EPS of $3.88 topping estimates, reinforcing that demand remains healthy. CRM Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y on ARR Milestone
• Positive Sentiment: The company said Agentforce annual recurring revenue crossed $1 billion and lifted FY2027 revenue guidance, suggesting its AI products are starting to contribute meaningfully to growth. Salesforce raises FY 2027 revenue guide to $45.9B-$46.2B while launching $25B accelerated share repurchase
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase program and highlighted $6.6 billion in free cash flow, signaling strong cash generation and shareholder returns. Salesforce Announces Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: New customer and partner headlines, including CVS Health expanding use of Salesforce’s Agentforce Health, support the view that the company’s AI platform is gaining traction. CVS Health to Deliver Faster, More Personalized Call Center Care for Millions of Members with Salesforce's Agentforce Health
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive, but many trimmed price targets after the report, reflecting a more cautious stance on near-term upside. Salesforce Q1 Results 'Uninspiring': 'Nothing To Dispel The AI Threat Narrative'
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were disappointed by Q2 revenue guidance, which came in slightly below expectations, keeping the stock under pressure despite the earnings beat. CRM Stock Dips After-Hours As Q2 Revenue Outlook Marginally Misses Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary continues to focus on the risk that AI agents could eventually disrupt Salesforce’s core revenue model, which is weighing on sentiment. Analyst warns Salesforce has an AI problem

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Northland Securities dropped their target price on Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America started coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Salesforce from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.97.

Salesforce Trading Up 8.4%

NYSE CRM opened at $191.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.58. The company has a market capitalization of $156.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 and a 12 month high of $276.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter 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. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

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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