ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd sharply increased its Salesforce stake by 175.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 345,036 shares valued at about $91.4 million.
• Salesforce continues to draw attention from institutional investors and insiders, with hedge funds owning 80.43% of the stock and directors David Blair Kirk and Laura Alber both making sizable share purchases in March.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates and posting 12.1% revenue growth, while also announcing a $25 billion buyback program and a modest dividend increase to $0.44 per share.

ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 175.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 345,036 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 219,597 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 1.9% of ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd's holdings in Salesforce were worth $91,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aspire Growth Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.2% during the third quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Mathes Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% in the third quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Key Stories 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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM 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. The stock has a market cap of $142.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 and a 12 month high of $292.17. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $184.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.65.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.78 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.82.

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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