Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 256,869 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,802 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $68,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Mathes Company Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% in the third quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 2,774 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $189.05 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.06. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week high of $276.80. The firm has a market cap of $154.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share 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 net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to purchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.97.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being lifted by Salesforce’s expanding AI push, especially the momentum around Agentforce and the company’s investment in Anthropic, which could strengthen its long-term growth narrative. Assessing Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Valuation After AI Agentforce Momentum And Anthropic Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlight Agentforce ARR surpassing $1 billion and growing rapidly, reinforcing the view that Salesforce’s AI products are already contributing meaningful traction and may support future revenue growth. Salesforce’s Agentforce ARR Tops $1B: Can It Fuel More Growth for CRM?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst-style commentary also frames Salesforce as a strong momentum and value stock, suggesting the market may still be revising its view upward after the company’s recent operating updates and conference commentary. Here’s Why Salesforce (CRM) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s presentations at the Evercore and Bank of America technology conferences likely helped keep the company in focus, but the transcripts themselves do not appear to introduce a major new catalyst. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Presents at 2026 Evercore Global TMT Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation-focused articles suggest the stock is being re-rated after recent volatility, with investors weighing strong AI momentum against an already improved share price. Is There Now an Opportunity in Salesforce (CRM) After Recent Share Price Volatility
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party product news, such as Flosum’s backup and archive update for Salesforce customers, is supportive of the ecosystem but unlikely to move CRM shares materially on its own. Flosum Updates Backup & Archive Solution for Salesforce with Legal Hold, Flexible Retention, and Faster Recovery
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary notes that Salesforce still faces questions around valuation and execution after a sharp run-up, so any disappointment in bookings or AI monetization could pressure the shares. Salesforce: Catch-Up Rally Will Continue; Bookings Rebound Expected In H2

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

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.