Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 221,576 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,517 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 4.5% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $58,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 159.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,106,255,000 after buying an additional 10,636,161 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $2,826,049,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 27,361.5% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $933,737,000 after buying an additional 3,411,700 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $484,852,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in Salesforce by 285.4% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,487,627 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $589,568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,117 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Salesforce
In related news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Salesforce Stock Performance
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.78 EPS. 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 anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.
Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
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. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.25%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $281.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Salesforce from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.21.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on CRM
Key Salesforce News
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Board-level buyback signal — Coverage highlights a record-sized repurchase program (previously reported at ~$50B at the board level), which investors interpret as management saying the shares are undervalued and that EPS should be supported as shares are retired. Salesforce (CRM) Valuation Check As Record US$50b Buyback Signals Confidence In Long-Term Growth
- Positive Sentiment: Insider buying by directors — Two directors (including Laura Alber) recently bought ~2,570 shares each at ~\$194.6, which often reads as management putting personal capital behind the stock. Insider Buying: Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Director Buys 2,571 Shares of Stock
- Positive Sentiment: AI/product narrative remains supportive — Coverage of Salesforce’s agentic AI and Data Cloud pushes reinforces the growth thesis if bookings and enterprise adoption accelerate. Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Expands AI Strategy As Dow Jones Industrials Average Reacts
- Neutral Sentiment: Execution/architecture critique — Analysts and commentary (e.g., Seeking Alpha) argue AI itself isn’t the core problem but that Salesforce’s architecture and integration/execution could limit how quickly AI features translate to sustainable revenue growth. Salesforce: AI Is Not The Problem, Architecture Is
- Negative Sentiment: Debt-funded buyback raises leverage concerns — CNBC reports Salesforce issued \$25B of debt to fund buybacks; that increases financial leverage and raises questions about prioritizing buybacks over organic reinvestment. Salesforce issues $25 billion in debt to buy back stock. Should we be concerned?
- Negative Sentiment: Buyback prompts scepticism about growth allocation — Coverage (e.g., 247WallStreet) questions whether heavy buybacks mask weaker organic growth opportunities and could cap upside if sales momentum stalls. A $50 Billion Buyback Is Raising Questions About Salesforce’s Growth Story
- Negative Sentiment: Analyst target trims — Several firms pared price targets after earnings/guidance, keeping sell-side sentiment mixed and possibly limiting near-term upside. MarketBeat: Salesforce company summary & earnings
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.
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