Generate Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 356.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 71,318 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 1.1% of Generate Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $24,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has 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 target price of $280.21.
Key Salesforce News
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Major federal win — Salesforce’s Agentforce autonomous AI agents are being rolled out in the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Contact Center, a large public‑sector deployment that validates scale and recurring revenue potential for AI offerings. Salesforce AI Agents Enter US Labor Department As Valuation Lags Targets
- Positive Sentiment: Healthcare scale use case — The Veterans Health Administration deployed a Salesforce‑powered agentic operating system to automate workflows and save frontline staff hours, reinforcing enterprise traction for Agentforce in large, mission‑critical customers. VHA Deploys Salesforce-Powered Agentic Operating System, Saving Thousands of Staff Hours for Front-Line Veteran Care
- Positive Sentiment: Large buyback thesis — Analysts and commentators highlight Salesforce’s aggressive capital return (including a $25B accelerated share repurchase within a $50B program) as a key catalyst to lift EPS and support the share price as buybacks meaningfully reduce float. Salesforce: Billions Of Reasons To Own
- Neutral Sentiment: Cost and leadership moves — Salesforce is reshaping executive pay, cutting fewer than 1,000 jobs and appointing new leaders; these moves can lift margins but also signal ongoing restructuring risk. Salesforce Resets Executive Pay And Leadership As Shares Trade Below Targets
- Neutral Sentiment: Small analyst tweak — Erste Group nudged FY27 EPS estimates slightly higher, a data point that offers modest support but doesn’t alter consensus materially. (research note)
- Negative Sentiment: Analyst/target pressure — Some outlets report notable price‑target cuts (example: a ~10.8% downward revision reported) that weigh on near‑term sentiment and downside expectations. Salesforce (CRM) price target decreased by 10.84% to 278.01
- Negative Sentiment: Sector sell‑off — Commentary that software stocks have entered a bear market and coverage noting CRM is down since its last earnings report are pressuring the stock; broad sector flows can outweigh company‑specific positives in the short term. Software Stocks Have Entered a Bear Market. Is This the End of the AI Trade, or Just the Beginning? Salesforce (CRM) Down 6.9% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
Salesforce Stock Down 3.5%
Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $179.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $165.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $198.40 and a 200-day moving average of $230.87. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $174.57 and a one year high of $296.05.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.
Salesforce Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 21.25%.
Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.
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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