Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 56,808 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 10,949 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 159.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,106,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,636,161 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $484,852,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 285.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,487,627 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $589,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,117 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $431,157,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,051,119 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,753,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,440 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Salesforce Stock Up 3.7%
Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $173.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $142.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.52 and a 12-month high of $292.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.
Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Salesforce Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 22.54%.
Key Salesforce News
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce’s stock rose after reports highlighted expanding AI momentum, solid financial performance, and a newly announced U.S. Air Force contract that bolsters confidence in demand for Agentforce and secure government cloud tools. Why Salesforce stock was surging today?
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce secured a $72 million U.S. Air Force agreement as part of a broader Department of Defense contract, expanding its footprint in highly regulated government environments and validating its AI platform for mission-critical workflows. Salesforce’s Air Force Deal Tests Agentforce’s Role In Secure Government AI
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce also gained attention after a new partnership with Moderna to use Agentforce Life Sciences to unify global operations, reinforcing the company’s AI and industry-specific software expansion. Salesforce (CRM), Moderna Partner to Unify Global Operations via Agentforce Life Sciences
- Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles pointed to Salesforce as a long-term value and trending stock, suggesting continued investor interest rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Why Salesforce (CRM) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term
- Negative Sentiment: Citi trimmed its price target on Salesforce to $188 from $200, citing weak enterprise software spending trends, which is a reminder that the broader software demand backdrop remains mixed. Citi Cuts PT on Salesforce (CRM) From $200 To $188 Amid Weak Enterprise Software Spending Trends
Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce
In related news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $223.00 to $194.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.82.
Get Our Latest Report on Salesforce
Salesforce Company 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.
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