Westpac Banking Corp Acquires Shares of 5,887 Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp acquired 5,887 Salesforce shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $922,000. Institutional investors collectively own 80.43% of Salesforce.
• Salesforce has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average analyst price target of $249.87, supported by expectations for AI-driven enterprise software growth and upcoming earnings results.
• The company recently reported quarterly revenue of $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year over year, and EPS of $3.88, but elevated debt linked partly to share buybacks and potential slower AI monetization remain key risks.

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,887 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in Salesforce by 410.3% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Favorable earnings setup: Oppenheimer and other analysts see potential upside from Salesforce’s upcoming results, while market expectations point to a possible post-earnings move toward the stock’s highest level since January. Salesforce Faces Favorable Second-Quarter Setup With Upside Potential How Much Salesforce Stock Is Expected to Move After Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Guggenheim reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $228 price target, while Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an Overweight rating and set a $250 target. The calls reflect confidence that Salesforce can capture demand for next-generation AI-powered, “agentic” enterprise workflows. Cantor Fitzgerald Salesforce Analyst Comment
• Positive Sentiment: Growth and capital returns: Zacks characterizes Salesforce as a strong growth stock, while a report highlights a record $27 billion quarterly share repurchase program. Buybacks could support earnings per share and signal that management views the shares as undervalued. Why Salesforce Is a Strong Growth Stock Salesforce Record Stock Buybacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Results are the next catalyst: Analysts are focused on revenue, EPS, and operating metrics for the quarter ended July 2026. Salesforce previously reported $11.13 billion of quarterly revenue, up 13.3% year over year, and EPS of $3.88, above consensus. Salesforce Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: AI platform positioning: Coverage comparing Salesforce with ServiceNow suggests investors are rotating toward enterprise application software as AI investment broadens beyond hardware. Salesforce’s Headless 360 strategy and the Agiloft integration on AgentExchange offer additional evidence of ecosystem expansion. Salesforce Versus ServiceNow
• Negative Sentiment: Risks remain: The buybacks were funded partly with $25 billion of new debt, increasing leverage and interest obligations. Separate commentary questions whether Salesforce could become a value trap if growth slows or AI monetization disappoints. Salesforce Value Trap Analysis

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. CLSA assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.87.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $209.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.56. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.32 and a 12 month high of $269.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a PEG 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

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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