Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 45.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,219 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,485 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More 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 Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $173.77 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.65. 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 firm has a market cap of $142.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $163.52 and a one year high of $292.17.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 purchase 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change 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 was Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $281.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.82.

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.