Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by Vulcan Value Partners LLC

Vulcan Value Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 46.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,564,357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 496,033 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 6.7% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned 0.16% of Salesforce worth $371,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1,145.6% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,097,000 after buying an additional 12,017 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 98.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,085,000 after purchasing an additional 10,633 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $44,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,233 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Salesforce by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $113,420,000 after purchasing an additional 61,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $66,610,000 after purchasing an additional 83,403 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $185.10 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $230.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.24 and a 52-week high of $318.97. The company has a market capitalization of $173.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.27.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 14.41%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho keeps an Outperform rating on CRM, signaling continued analyst conviction that Salesforce can outperform peers as AI adoption supports growth. Mizuho Maintains an Outperform Rating on Salesforce (CRM)
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha upgrade frames the upcoming Q4 print as an opportunity to “silence the bears,” highlighting potential revenue acceleration, expanding backlog and clearer AI-driven sales/expense dynamics that could re-rate the stock if delivered. Salesforce: Q4 Earnings Is An Opportunity To Silence The Bears (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Sector evidence: beaten-down software names (RingCentral, Five9) rallied after earnings that showed AI strengthening bookings — a sign that positive AI proofs could lift Salesforce if its own AI products (Agentforce, generative solutions) show similar commercial traction. Beaten-down software stocks RingCentral and Five9 rally as earnings quell some AI concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks previews the Q4 print and urges focus beyond headline EPS/revenue — metrics like backlog, billings mix and AI subscription uptake will matter, making the upcoming report a data-driven catalyst rather than a simple beat/miss story. Salesforce (CRM) Q4 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets note elevated investor attention and mixed analyst views — increased coverage raises volatility around the earnings print but doesn’t resolve direction until results and guidance arrive. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: BMO cut its price target from $275 to $235 (still “Outperform”), which reduces upside expectations and signals more cautious near-term valuation assumptions. salesforce.com (CRM) PT Lowered to $235 at BMO Capital
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG trimmed its price target to $260, and RBC moved to a Hold — more downward pressure from sell-side revisions that can sap momentum ahead of the quarter. BTIG Research Lowers Salesforce Price Target to $260 Salesforce (CRM) Receives a Hold from RBC Capital
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put-option buying was recorded (roughly 132k puts), indicating elevated hedging or bearish spec positions that increase downside risk and implied volatility into earnings. (reported trading flow)

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,271.30. This trade represents a 34.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit bought 96,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $260.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,015,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,994,509 shares in the company, valued at $780,309,155.22. This trade represents a 3.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.