Johnson Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,893 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,897,000. Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,507,000. Mmbg Investment Advisors CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,240,000. West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Bantamac Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $727,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 5.0%

CRM stock opened at $205.92 on Thursday. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.32 and a twelve month high of $269.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.41.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. CLSA began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright lowered Salesforce to a “negative” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.49.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Agentforce adoption is accelerating. Salesforce’s Agentforce annual recurring revenue reportedly surged 205%, suggesting rising customer usage and deeper integration of AI agents into its CRM platform. This supports the company’s efforts to remain competitive in enterprise AI. Will Agentforce Help Salesforce Stay Ahead in the Enterprise AI Race?
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce expanded Headless 360 across its portfolio, potentially giving customers more flexible ways to deploy Salesforce data and services across digital channels. Broader product integration could support retention, cross-selling and long-term platform value. Salesforce Expands Headless 360 Across Its Portfolio
• Positive Sentiment: Sector rotation and value interest are supporting CRM. Investors have been moving from semiconductor stocks into underperforming software names, while some analysts characterize Salesforce as attractively valued for long-term investors. Netflix, Salesforce, and Adobe Rally as Investors Rotate
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming August 26 earnings report is the next major catalyst. Salesforce recently exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations, but investors will focus on forward guidance, Agentforce monetization and whether growth can reaccelerate. Salesforce Projected to Announce Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic exposure offers a potential strategic benefit. Salesforce has participated in Anthropic funding rounds and integrates Claude, giving CRM indirect exposure to the enterprise AI company’s reported growth and possible future valuation gains. The Pre-IPO Playbook: How to Cash in on Anthropic Before the Bell
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term earnings expectations remain a risk. Zacks said Salesforce lacks the combination of factors that typically supports a likely earnings beat, raising the possibility of disappointment if guidance or AI-related results fall short. Salesforce Earnings Expected to Grow
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst upgrades have not consistently translated into sustained gains. This keeps the stock dependent on tangible earnings evidence, particularly as investors question whether generative AI could weaken traditional software business models. Analyst upgrades keep failing Salesforce

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.