Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by WestEnd Advisors LLC

WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 31.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 225,477 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 53,931 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 1.1% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $51,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at about $11,396,844,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 130.2% in 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,914,086,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $927,332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $844,928,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,416,936.57. The trade was a 45.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 4,176 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $289.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 11th. Three investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.98.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI growth remains a key bullish argument. Agentforce adoption and Salesforce’s broader generative-AI strategy are strengthening the company’s growth narrative, potentially supporting future earnings and customer engagement expansion. Agentforce Growth Strengthens Salesforce’s Generative AI Narrative
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and growth screens remain broadly favorable. Zacks highlighted Salesforce as a top-ranked growth stock, while average brokerage recommendations remain optimistic. Commentary also argues that the shares look inexpensive relative to Salesforce’s earnings power, which could attract value-oriented investors. Salesforce Is a Top-Ranked Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: The Braze acquisition is under investor review. Salesforce’s reported $5.66 billion deal for Braze places greater emphasis on whether the transaction can accelerate customer-engagement growth and generate acceptable returns, although the near-term financial impact remains uncertain. Stocktwits M&A Watch
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking appears to be weighing on the stock. Burke Wealth Management sold Salesforce after its roughly 20% post-earnings rally, signaling that some investors are locking in gains despite strong operating results. Why Burke Wealth Sold Salesforce After Its Post-Earnings Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Market expectations may already reflect much of the good news. Investors are questioning whether Salesforce’s valuation fully accounts for its earnings strength, AI ambitions and recent performance. That concern can pressure the shares when there is no fresh catalyst, even though the company’s fundamentals remain solid. Salesforce Stock Drops Despite Market Gains

Salesforce Trading Down 2.7%

CRM stock opened at $240.82 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.32 and a 1-year high of $269.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $237.06 and its 200-day moving average is $199.27.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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, analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th.

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.