Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 221,576 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying 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 holding. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $58,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 658.8% during the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity at Salesforce
In other Salesforce news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,271.30. This trade represents a 34.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Salesforce News Summary
- 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 Price Performance
Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $195.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $180.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.57 and a fifty-two week high of $296.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.04.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Salesforce Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.25%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.21.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Salesforce
Salesforce Company 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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