Salesforce Inc. $CRM Stock: CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Grows Stake

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 109.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,314 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,258 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. ABS Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $610,974,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:CRM opened at $228.56 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $238.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.32 and a 1-year high of $269.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rune Technologies, a defense-technology company. The deal supports Salesforce’s push into military and government applications, potentially expanding its addressable market and adding a specialized technology platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Rune Technologies
• Positive Sentiment: TPM Holdings completed an 18-month realignment centered on Salesforce CRM and artificial intelligence for the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Its combination of TrebleHook and The Hunley Group could expand Salesforce-based implementations and demonstrate growing demand for industry-specific AI tools. TPM Holdings Accelerates Investment in AI and Salesforce CRM
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and investment articles describe Salesforce as a potential AI rebound candidate, citing autonomous AI agents, improving monetization, strong free cash flow and its leadership in customer relationship management. These views may support longer-term sentiment, although they are not new company guidance. AI Comeback Story Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s earnings report is approaching, making upcoming revenue growth, AI adoption, margins and forward guidance the main near-term catalysts. The company’s latest reported quarter included revenue of $11.35 billion and adjusted earnings that exceeded consensus estimates. Salesforce Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce declined in sympathy with ServiceNow, Fortinet and other software stocks after investors focused on slower contracted-revenue growth despite earnings beats and higher AI targets. The reaction has renewed concerns about enterprise-software demand, AI monetization timelines and elevated sector valuations. ServiceNow Results Dent Software Stocks

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $289.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

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

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company’s products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.