GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC cut its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 66.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,548 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,093 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 285.7% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Salesforce Stock Performance
NYSE CRM opened at $180.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $182.26 and a 200-day moving average of $212.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $147.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week high of $280.74.
Salesforce declared that its board has approved a stock 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 purchase up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Salesforce Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.54%.
Insider Activity
In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the purchase, the director directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.12.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on CRM
Salesforce News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced an expanded collaboration with Cint to deliver next-generation AI-powered support through Slack, reinforcing the company’s push into agentic enterprise workflows and AI-driven automation. Cint and Salesforce to Deliver the Next Generation of AI-Powered Support
- Positive Sentiment: Several analyst- and media-driven pieces highlighted Salesforce as an attractive AI and software value play, with commentary pointing to strong upside potential and expectations that Q1 results may benefit from continued digital transformation and generative AI adoption. Salesforce Likely to Beat Q1 Earnings Estimates: Time to Buy the Stock?
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price-target articles continue to suggest meaningful upside for CRM, with analysts’ average target implying a large gain from current levels and some firms still keeping bullish ratings. Does Salesforce (CRM) Have the Potential to Rally 53.21% as Wall Street Analysts Expect?
- Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce granted 64,296 RSUs to 27 employees tied to the Cimulate acquisition; this is routine retention-related equity compensation and is not likely to materially move the stock on its own. Salesforce Grants Equity Awards to Cimulate Under Its Inducement Equity Incentive Plan
- Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also focused on Salesforce’s upcoming earnings release and expected post-earnings volatility, which adds uncertainty but no clear directional catalyst yet. Here’s How Much Traders Expect Salesforce Stock Could Move After Earnings
- Negative Sentiment: UBS flagged a mixed enterprise software spending backdrop and said it sees limited signs of near-term acceleration in bookings, which may be weighing on sentiment into earnings. Salesforce faces tough enterprise software backdrop heading into earnings, says UBS
- Negative Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated an Underperform rating with a $160 target, signaling that some analysts remain cautious on the stock despite Salesforce’s strong market position. BofA Maintains Underperform Rating on Salesforce (CRM)
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
- Five stocks we like better than Salesforce
- MarketBeat Week in Review – 05/18 – 05/22
- SpaceX IPO: Opportunity? Or the Ultimate Hype Trade?
- CAVA Group’s Stock Looks Delicious After Strong Earnings
- Lowe’s Finds Support at $215 After Q1 Earnings Sell-Off
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CRM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Salesforce Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Salesforce and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
