Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 49,769 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,795,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Country Trust Bank grew its position in Salesforce by 658.8% during the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Evercore decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.21.
Insider Transactions at Salesforce
In other Salesforce news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Salesforce Trading Down 1.5%
Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $195.34 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $180.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.57 and a 1 year high of $296.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $207.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.16.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The business’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. Analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.54%.
Salesforce declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce has launched a record $25 billion accelerated share repurchase (ASR), with initial delivery of roughly 103 million shares, which should boost EPS and signal management confidence. Salesforce Commences Largest-Ever $25 Billion Accelerated Share Repurchase
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced a major AI partnership with NVIDIA to embed AI agents into workflows — a strategic move that could deepen product differentiation and drive enterprise demand for AI-enabled CRM. Salesforce Teams with NVIDIA to Bring AI Agents into the Flow of Work
- Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and brokers are endorsing the capital-allocation move: Truist reiterated a Buy and other analyst notes highlight management conviction in growth and EPS accretion from buybacks. Analyst support can underpin sentiment and price targets. Salesforce (CRM) Gets Buy Rating on Capital Allocation Strategy
- Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and strategy pieces are parsing the company’s “doubling down” on AI and buybacks; these provide context but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Salesforce: Doubling Down In A Time Of Uncertainty
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst roundups and investor interest pieces are elevating attention on CRM; heightened searches and AP coverage can increase short-term trading volume but are information, not a catalyst per se. Analysts Offer Insights on Technology Companies: Salesforce (CRM)
- Negative Sentiment: Salesforce funded the ASR largely with a multi-tranche debt package (senior notes maturing 2028–2066 and a new $6B term loan), significantly increasing leverage and interest exposure — a structural risk if growth/ cash generation slows or rates rise. The Bull Case For Salesforce (CRM) Could Change Following Debt-Funded $25 Billion Buyback And Refinancing Transaction
- Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns the large, debt-funded buyback could change the bull case by concentrating risk in the capital structure — investors are re-pricing that trade-off today. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Climbs on Historic $25B Share Repurchase Launch
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.
Further Reading
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