Aberdeen Group plc Has $298.78 Million Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Aberdeen Group plc cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,127,840 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 27,701 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 0.5% of Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.12% of Salesforce worth $298,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1,145.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 12,017 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 98.3% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,085,000 after acquiring an additional 10,633 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the third quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $44,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,233 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $113,420,000 after purchasing an additional 61,270 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 42.2% during the 3rd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $66,610,000 after purchasing an additional 83,403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total value of $929,259.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,271.30. This trade represents a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $187.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $195.37 and a 200-day moving average of $229.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.57 and a 12 month high of $296.05.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.25%.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced an accelerated US$25 billion share-repurchase program and has been active on capital returns and ESOP filings, signaling management confidence in cash flow and reducing share count. This is a major immediate catalyst for earnings-per-share upside and valuation support. Should Salesforce’s US$25 Billion Buyback and Ecosystem Push Reframe the Capital Story for CRM Investors?
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel reiterated a Buy rating after meetings with Salesforce executives; consensus analyst sentiment remains constructive (74% bullish, average target ~$252), supporting upside expectations. Analyst backing can amplify positive price moves on the buyback news. Stifel Reiterates “Buy” Rating on Salesforce (CRM) Following Meetings with Executives
• Positive Sentiment: AI product momentum: Agentforce posted rapid ARR growth and strong deal flow, while Data 360 is contributing recurring revenue — evidence that Salesforce’s AI initiatives can sustain enterprise growth and margin leverage. Salesforce’s AI Push Gains Steam: Will Agentforce Drive CRM’s Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Slack business signs: CEO Marc Benioff projects Slack revenue could reach ~$3 billion this year, and Slackbot received a major AI upgrade (30 features) — both points reinforce the company’s cross-sell and product monetization narrative. Salesforce CEO Benioff: Slack revenue expected to hit $3 billion this year
• Positive Sentiment: Slackbot / product innovation: Slack added ~30 AI features in a major update, underscoring product differentiation that supports monetization and enterprise stickiness. Slack adds 30 AI features to Slackbot, its most ambitious update since the Salesforce acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Billionaire Ray Dalio disclosed a minor reduction in his Bridgewater holding — not a large exit, but notable to some investors monitoring institutional flows. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM): Billionaire Ray Dalio Discloses Minor Reduction in Holding
• Negative Sentiment: Sector headwinds: software names suffered broader 2026 weakness amid AI-related rotation and margin fears; this macro/peer pressure remains a risk for CRM’s near-term multiple even as company-specific fundamentals improve. 2 No-Brainer Software Stocks to Buy Right Now

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.21.

About Salesforce

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.