<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in  Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission. The firm owned 360,207 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,194 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Salesforce were worth $95,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission.</p><ul><li>3 Stocks Leading the Charge in the Agentic AI Era</li></ul><p>A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Aspire Growth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of  Salesforce by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period.  Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of  Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period.  Mathes Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of  Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,976,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period.  Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in shares of  Salesforce by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,548,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period.  Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of  Salesforce by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  80.43% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Salesforce Trading Up 3.4%</h2><p>Shares of CRM opened at $179.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.85. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.52 and a 1-year high of $289.90. The stock has a market cap of $146.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.14. </p><ul><li>The Nasdaq's Historic Rally Doesn't Mean the Risk Is Gone</li></ul><p>Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. The company's 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.  Equities analysts forecast that  Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Salesforce Increases Dividend</h2><p>The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.54%. </p><ul><li>These 3 Beaten-Down Stocks Just Announced Massive Share Buybacks</li></ul><p>Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 14.1% of its stock  through open market purchases. Stock  buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued. </p><h2>Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades</h2><p>A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an &#34;outperform&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo &amp; Company reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a &#34;market perform&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an &#34;outperform&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a &#34;sector perform&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned  a Buy rating, eleven have issued  a Hold rating and two have issued  a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company  has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus price target of $274.56.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on CRM</b></p><h2>Key Stories Impacting Salesforce</h2><p>Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:</p><ul>   <li><span>Negative Sentiment: </span>Bank of America initiated coverage on Salesforce with an <strong>Underperform</strong> rating and a <strong>$160 price target</strong>, implying downside from current levels. The call raised concerns that the company’s AI narrative may be losing momentum and appears to be the most stock-moving headline for CRM today. <i></i><span>Benzinga report on Bank of America coverage</span></li>   <li><span>Negative Sentiment: </span>Another market note highlighted Salesforce among software laggards that have been hit by broad sector selling, reinforcing the idea that investors remain cautious on the stock despite AI-related growth potential. <i></i><span>Zacks commentary</span></li>   <li><span>Neutral Sentiment: </span>A separate analysis argued that Salesforce may still be attractive versus Oracle because of its steadier growth profile and cheaper valuation, offering a counterpoint to the bearish broker view. <i></i><span>Zacks comparison article</span></li>   <li><span>Neutral Sentiment: </span>Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff also continued promoting the company’s AI efforts, saying Slack AI can surface employee concerns and decisions, which supports the long-term AI story but is not an immediate catalyst. <i></i><span>Business Insider article</span></li>   <li><span>Positive Sentiment: </span>Salesforce also received a bullish longer-term mention as one of several AI-powered software laggards that could offer short-term upside, suggesting some investors still see value after the selloff. <i></i><span>Zacks AI-powered laggards article</span></li> </ul><h2>Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce</h2><p>In other Salesforce news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own  3.50% of the company's stock. </p><h2>About Salesforce</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.  </p><p>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.</p><h2>See Also</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Salesforce</li><li>Why Applied Optoelectronics Stock May Be Near a Turning Point</li><li>From High-Yield to High-Growth: 3 Stocks Boosting Dividends</li><li>Is Everspin Technologies the Next AI Edge Breakout?</li><li>5 Robotics Stocks to Watch as Physical AI Builds Momentum</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CRM?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUNSTQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUNSTQ"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Salesforce Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Salesforce, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Salesforce wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Salesforce currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

CRMG

<p>Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.9% in Q4, owning 360,207 shares valued at $95.42 million. Other hedge funds also adjusted their positions. Salesforce shares opened at $179.39, with a market cap of $146.78 billion. The company reported $3.81 EPS, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share. Additionally, a $25 billion stock buyback plan was authorized.</p>

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Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB