53,931 Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by WestEnd Advisors LLC

WestEnd Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 225,477 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,931 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.1% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $51,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter worth $26,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC grew 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Salesforce News Roundup

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%

Shares of CRM opened at $240.82 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $237.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $199.27. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.32 and a 52 week high of $269.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $2.63. The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.98.

Salesforce 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.