Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Sold by Qsemble Capital Management LP

Qsemble Capital Management LP reduced its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 45.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,364 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 9,382 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,843,166 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $23,800,353,000 after acquiring an additional 270,913 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,420,657 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,732,966,000 after acquiring an additional 159,739 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 9.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,051,119 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,753,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,440 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 159.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,106,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,636,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 11.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,155,512 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,695,856,000 after acquiring an additional 754,116 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was bought 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 owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $223.00 to $194.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.82.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.7%

CRM stock opened at $173.77 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.52 and a 1-year high of $292.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $184.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.65. The firm 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change 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 is presently 22.54%.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

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

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.