AMI Asset Management Corp Cuts Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• AMI Asset Management trimmed its stake in Salesforce by 2.1% in Q4, selling 3,657 shares and leaving it with 174,177 shares worth about $46.14 million (Salesforce was its 12th largest holding).
• Salesforce beat expectations with Q4 EPS of $3.81 vs. $3.05 and revenue of $11.20 billion (+12.1% YoY), and the company announced a $25.0 billion share repurchase plan and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a $280.21 target; the stock trades near $172.76 (market cap ~$159.5B) and is ~80.4% institutionally owned.

AMI Asset Management Corp reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,177 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,657 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 2.6% of AMI Asset Management Corp's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. AMI Asset Management Corp's holdings in Salesforce were worth $46,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aspire Growth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 871 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 155 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of CRM opened at $172.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $159.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $189.15 and a 200 day moving average of $225.71. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week high of $296.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The business had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 22.54%.

Salesforce announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sector-led rally lifts CRM: A broad software rebound is pushing beaten-down large-cap names higher, driving short-term buying momentum into Salesforce. Salesforce Jumps 5%, Adobe Climbs 6%, Snowflake Rockets 9 in a Broad Software Sector Rebound
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst take: Wedbush says recent sell-offs (including CRM) were disconnected from emerging AI monetization prospects, implying the pullback may have been overdone and supporting a recovery thesis. Microsoft, Salesforce Recent Sell-Offs Disconnected From Emerging AI Monetization Opportunities, Wedbush Says
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term value argument: Research pieces highlight Salesforce as an undervalued large-cap with strong cash flow and AI-driven growth potential — a buy-the-dip narrative for long-term investors. Why Salesforce (CRM) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Reference / quote and financials: Company profile and latest market data are available for investors tracking fundamentals and guidance. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo Finance
• Negative Sentiment: Fund-level selling: Mar Vista’s U.S. Quality Strategy disclosed it sold Salesforce, citing AI-related execution challenges — a sign that some active managers are reducing exposure due to near-term execution/AI risk. Mar Vista U.S. Quality Strategy Sold Salesforce (CRM) Due to AI Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and reputational risks: A reported customer data breach linked to a third‑party app (Drift) and plans to cut ~4,000 support roles as AI replaces service tasks have raised fresh concerns about data security, customer relationships and near-term execution. Salesforce Data Breach And AI Layoffs Reshape Risk And Valuation Narrative

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $280.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total value of $929,259.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,271.30. The trade was a 34.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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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