Salesforce Inc. $CRM is Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Guinness Atkinson Asset Management boosted its Salesforce stake by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, making CRM its 8th-largest holding at 3.2% of the portfolio, worth about $6.9 million.
• Salesforce reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $3.88 and revenue of $11.13 billion, both beating expectations and showing 13.3% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company continued rewarding shareholders with a $25 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy overall.

Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,835 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 5,459 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 3.2% of Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc's holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 285.7% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 8.4%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $191.00 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $180.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.58. The company has a market capitalization of $156.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.52 and a 12-month high of $276.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 20.37%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Salesforce from $194.00 to $173.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Salesforce from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.97.

More Salesforce News

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

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.

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