48,551 Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,054,002 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,551 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $471,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth approximately $11,396,844,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 130.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,659,217 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,363,096,000 after acquiring an additional 7,160,302 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,724,790 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,188,666,000 after acquiring an additional 2,561,923 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $927,332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $844,928,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.98.

Key Headlines 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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 4,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 18,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,486,958.84. This trade represents a 28.66% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,416,936.57. The trade was a 45.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $228.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap 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’s 50 day moving average is $238.94 and its 200 day moving average is $198.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.32 and a 52-week high of $269.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.91 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Salesforce Company Profile

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.