4,494 Shares in Salesforce Inc. $CRM Purchased by Prana Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Prana Capital Management LP purchased a new stake of 4,494 shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) during the third quarter, valued at about $1.065 million.
• Salesforce's board approved a record $25 billion accelerated share repurchase (ASR) that can buy up to 14.1% of shares — a move that should boost EPS but was largely funded with debt, increasing leverage and interest-rate risk.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS beat of $3.81 versus $3.05 expected and revenue of $11.20 billion (up 12.1% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44.

Prana Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,494 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,065,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Aspire Growth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the third quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.1% during the third quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 17 Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. 17 Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 871 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 155 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5%

CRM stock opened at $195.34 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.57 and a 52 week high of $296.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $180.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 22.54%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,271.30. The trade was a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.21.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce has launched a record $25 billion accelerated share repurchase (ASR), with initial delivery of roughly 103 million shares, which should boost EPS and signal management confidence. Salesforce Commences Largest-Ever $25 Billion Accelerated Share Repurchase
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced a major AI partnership with NVIDIA to embed AI agents into workflows — a strategic move that could deepen product differentiation and drive enterprise demand for AI-enabled CRM. Salesforce Teams with NVIDIA to Bring AI Agents into the Flow of Work
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and brokers are endorsing the capital-allocation move: Truist reiterated a Buy and other analyst notes highlight management conviction in growth and EPS accretion from buybacks. Analyst support can underpin sentiment and price targets. Salesforce (CRM) Gets Buy Rating on Capital Allocation Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and strategy pieces are parsing the company’s “doubling down” on AI and buybacks; these provide context but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Salesforce: Doubling Down In A Time Of Uncertainty
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst roundups and investor interest pieces are elevating attention on CRM; heightened searches and AP coverage can increase short-term trading volume but are information, not a catalyst per se. Analysts Offer Insights on Technology Companies: Salesforce (CRM)
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce funded the ASR largely with a multi-tranche debt package (senior notes maturing 2028–2066 and a new $6B term loan), significantly increasing leverage and interest exposure — a structural risk if growth/ cash generation slows or rates rise. The Bull Case For Salesforce (CRM) Could Change Following Debt-Funded $25 Billion Buyback And Refinancing Transaction
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns the large, debt-funded buyback could change the bull case by concentrating risk in the capital structure — investors are re-pricing that trade-off today. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Climbs on Historic $25B Share Repurchase Launch

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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