Salesforce Inc. $CRM Stock: Milestone Asset Management LLC Raises Stake

Key Points

• Milestone Asset Management increased its Salesforce stake by 190.6% in the third quarter, owning 13,197 shares valued at approximately $3.03 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.43% of CRM.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with Salesforce holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $278.12, above its reported $246.66 share price.
• Salesforce’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $5.90 versus a $3.27 estimate and revenue of $11.35 billion. Investors continue to focus on whether the company’s AI initiatives will translate into stronger growth and profitability.

Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 190.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,197 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: An analyst upgrade helped lift Salesforce, adding to favorable sentiment around its valuation, earnings outlook and AI growth prospects. Salesforce Shares Climb on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce benefited from broad strength in enterprise software and a major United Kingdom deal, while technical analysts pointed to a bullish flag breakout, a double-bottom pattern and a weekly reversal that could extend the recovery. Why Is Salesforce Stock Gaining Thursday? Salesforce Price Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: ZoomInfo was named a flagship data partner for Salesforce’s new Hunter outbound sales agent. Hunter will combine CRM data with live intelligence to identify prospects and recommend next actions, reinforcing Salesforce’s strategy of embedding AI into Sales Cloud. ZoomInfo Named a Flagship Data Partner for Hunter
• Positive Sentiment: One investment-fund review argued that Salesforce’s AI integration is increasing the value of its core enterprise platform. Another comparison gave Salesforce an edge over ServiceNow based on stronger earnings-estimate revisions, faster AI growth and a lower valuation. Salesforce AI Integration Enhances Platform Value Salesforce vs. ServiceNow
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors continue comparing Salesforce with ServiceNow. Salesforce generates more revenue, but ServiceNow has posted faster and more consistent year-over-year growth, highlighting the need for Salesforce to accelerate its expansion. Salesforce vs. ServiceNow Revenue Trends
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors remain skeptical that agentic AI will meaningfully improve Salesforce’s profits, particularly because many customers have not yet upgraded to newer offerings. That uncertainty could limit further gains until AI monetization becomes clearer. Agentic AI Skepticism

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson set a $225.00 target price on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Barclays lowered Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $278.12.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $246.66 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.32 and a 12 month high of $269.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.26. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $230.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.91 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 4,176 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $239.33 per share, with a total value of $999,442.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. The trade was a 28.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,416,936.57. The trade was a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc NYSE: CRM develops cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software and enterprise applications. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, analytics, data integration and collaboration through subscription-based services.

The company's product portfolio includes Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Salesforce Platform, Data Cloud and Tableau. Salesforce also offers MuleSoft integration technology, Slack collaboration software and artificial intelligence capabilities through its Einstein platform.

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