Salesforce (CRM) Stock: Institutional Buying, Earnings Beat — Now an Acquisition Too

TLDR

• Salesforce agreed to acquire m3ter, a consumption-based billing platform, to expand its Agentforce Revenue Management suite
• Financial terms were not disclosed; the deal is expected to close in Q2 of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2027
• CRM opened at $182.72, trading down 1.6%, well below its 52-week high of $276.80
• Salesforce beat Q1 earnings estimates with EPS of $3.88 vs. $3.13 expected, on revenue of $11.13 billion
• Institutional investors hold 80.43% of CRM stock, with a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” and average price target of $260.85

Salesforce (CRM) announced Monday it has signed an agreement to acquire m3ter, a metering and rating platform built for consumption-based billing. The deal will add high-volume mediation, metering, and rating capabilities to Agentforce Revenue Management.

CRM opened at $182.72 on Tuesday, down 1.6% on the day, sitting closer to its 52-week low of $163.52 than its high of $276.80.

Salesforce, Inc., CRM

m3ter’s platform works in near real-time at enterprise scale. It lets customers ingest product usage data, configure billing scenarios, and automate monetization data flows across CRM, ERP, and quote-to-cash systems.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in Q2 of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2027, subject to customary closing conditions.

Strong Earnings Back the Move

The acquisition comes shortly after a solid earnings print. Salesforce reported EPS of $3.88 for Q1, beating the $3.13 consensus estimate by $0.75. Revenue came in at $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year-over-year, slightly ahead of the $11.05 billion estimate.

The company’s FY2027 guidance sits at $14.06–$14.12 EPS, with Q2 2027 guidance of $3.25–$3.27 EPS.

Salesforce also has a $25 billion share buyback plan in place, authorized in March, covering up to 14.1% of outstanding stock. A quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share is set for July 2, with a record date of June 11.

Two directors, Laura Alber and David Blair Kirk, each purchased roughly $500,000 worth of stock in March at prices around $194.58–$194.62 per share.

Institutional Interest Remains Strong

Institutional ownership stands at 80.43% of CRM stock. Norges Bank opened a new position worth approximately $3.18 billion in Q4. Capital World Investors increased its stake by 159% in Q3, now holding 17.3 million shares worth $4.1 billion. Capital International Investors raised its position by 13.3% in Q4 to 22.7 million shares.

Marks Group Wealth Management added 11,897 shares in Q4, a 31.9% increase, bringing its total holding to 49,177 shares valued at roughly $13 million.

Analyst price targets vary widely. JPMorgan holds an “overweight” rating with a $320 target. BMO Capital Markets rates it “outperform” with a $215 target. Royal Bank of Canada cut its target to $210 with a “sector perform.” The consensus sits at “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $260.85.

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $181.25, and its 200-day moving average is $208.35, with a market cap of $149.64 billion and a P/E ratio of 21.15.

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