PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 12,046 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 258,121 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,046 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $68,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,145.6% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 12,017 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 98.3% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,085,000 after purchasing an additional 10,633 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the third quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $44,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,233 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.1% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $113,420,000 after purchasing an additional 61,270 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 42.2% during the third quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $66,610,000 after purchasing an additional 83,403 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $176.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $144.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $182.53 and its 200-day moving average is $213.21. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $163.52 and a one year high of $286.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.54%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.12.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank reiterated its Buy rating on Salesforce and kept a $255 price target, saying it expects a “seasonally slow but steady” start ahead of earnings. Deutsche Bank Stays Positive on Salesforce (CRM), Citi Lowers PT
• Positive Sentiment: Cint expanded its relationship with Salesforce to deliver next-generation AI-powered support, reinforcing demand for Salesforce’s Agentforce and Slack-based enterprise AI tools. Cint and Salesforce to Deliver the Next Generation of AI-Powered Support
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Salesforce as a beneficiary of ongoing investor interest in AI and big data, and noted that the company’s upcoming earnings report is expected to show growth and could support another beat. Wall Street’s Insights Into Key Metrics Ahead of Salesforce (CRM) Q1 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary around CRM remains mixed overall, with some broker notes still constructive while valuation-focused pieces question how much growth and AI moat are already priced in.
• Negative Sentiment: Citi reportedly lowered its price target on Salesforce due to slower deal activity and rising competitive pressure, adding to investor caution. Citi Lowers Target on Salesforce (CRM) Over Slower Deal Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America reinstated an Underperform rating and a $160 price target, arguing Salesforce faces an “AI-driven structural reset,” which weighed on sentiment. Salesforce rated ‘Underperform’ by Bank of America on AI growth concerns

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.