Value Partners Investments Inc. Acquires 165,620 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its Salesforce stake by 74.7% in the first quarter, adding 165,620 shares to reach 387,196 shares valued at about $72.35 million. Salesforce is now the firm’s largest holding, making up roughly 5.5% of its portfolio.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $3.88 EPS versus the $3.13 estimate and revenue of $11.13 billion, up 13.3% from a year earlier. The company also gave fiscal 2027 guidance and continues to see analysts broadly rate the stock Moderate Buy.
• The company is returning capital to shareholders through a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share and a $25 billion share buyback program. Recent coverage also highlights Salesforce’s AI strategy, especially Agentforce, as a key catalyst supporting sentiment.

Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 74.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387,196 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 165,620 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 5.5% of Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $72,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $158.23 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.32 and a 52 week high of $276.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.20. The company has a market cap of $129.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $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 predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

Salesforce announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to purchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $194.00 to $173.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.61.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating and a $240 price target on Salesforce, citing AI momentum and growth tied to Agentforce, which reinforces the bullish long-term case for the stock. TD Cowen Reaffirms Buy Rating on Salesforce (CRM) as AI Momentum and Agentforce Drive Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Salesforce’s Agentforce and broader AI strategy suggests the company is still seen as a serious player in enterprise AI, which may help offset fears that legacy software growth is slowing. Salesforce Agentforce: A Comprehensive Enterprise Cheat Sheet and Review
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces argue Salesforce has been overly sold off and may be undervalued after its post-earnings decline, but these are more valuation arguments than fresh catalysts. Salesforce: Taking Advantage Of The Market's Misunderstanding Of Enterprise Software
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s acquisition of m3ter to expand dynamic pricing tools adds to its AI CRM platform, but the immediate stock impact looks limited so far. Salesforce expands AI CRM with acquisition of m3ter for dynamic pricing
• Negative Sentiment: One article notes Salesforce is still down sharply since its last earnings report, reminding investors that sentiment remains fragile despite the recent rebound. Salesforce (CRM) Down 14.8% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Negative Sentiment: Another report says Salesforce is trying to defend its AI position with new tools for RIAs, but experts are raising concerns about cost, implementation, and benefits, which could limit enthusiasm. Salesforce tries to catch up on AI -- and halt precipitous stock slide -- with launch of 'Agentic Advisor' for RIAs

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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