Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Buys 28,130 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,249 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,130 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $46,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 285.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $200.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.82.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $173.77 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $142.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $184.17 and its 200 day moving average is $215.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.52 and a 12-month high of $292.17.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase 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 presently 22.54%.

Salesforce announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

Salesforce 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.