The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases New Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 3.14 million Salesforce shares worth approximately $492.1 million, giving it a 0.38% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 80.43% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $249.87, though some analysts have downgraded the stock or lowered targets.
• Salesforce exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue rising 13.3% year over year, and pays a $0.44 quarterly dividend. Investors remain focused on whether AI demand can accelerate sales growth amid valuation and slower software-growth concerns.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,140,986 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $492,067,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.38% of Salesforce at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC raised its stake in Salesforce by 410.3% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $228.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $253.00 to $166.00 in a research note on Monday, June 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.87.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.0%

CRM stock opened at $209.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.32 and a 1-year high of $269.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $175.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.44.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.75. The company 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%.Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. 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 forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $255 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. The bullish view reflects confidence in Salesforce’s AI opportunity and earnings outlook. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: One analyst argues Salesforce remains undervalued, citing its AI-enabled growth potential, modest valuation and significant share repurchases. The company’s reported $27.5 billion buyback has reduced shares outstanding and could provide support for earnings per share and the stock. Salesforce Forcing Itself Higher Through Massive Buybacks And AI-Led Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect AI cloud demand, acquisitions and disciplined spending to support second-quarter results, with revenue growth forecast at approximately 10.6%. Salesforce is also being discussed as a potential beneficiary of broader enterprise AI adoption. Salesforce Set to Report Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce has rallied toward the $210 area and is testing a resistance zone near its June high. A strong earnings reaction could determine whether the recent advance continues or stalls. Salesforce Stock Hits a Crucial Resistance Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: The main risk is that Salesforce’s earnings report fails to demonstrate a meaningful sales-growth reacceleration. Analysts and investors remain cautious about slower software growth, elevated AI expectations and the possibility that the broader AI trade could weaken. Salesforce Earnings Due: Will Sales Growth Reacceleration Hold Up?

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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