ARS Investment Partners LLC Has $15.72 Million Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• ARS Investment Partners cut its Salesforce stake by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,993 shares and leaving it with 59,345 shares worth about $15.72 million.
• Salesforce reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.81 topping estimates and revenue of $11.20 billion slightly ahead of expectations, while revenue rose 12.1% year over year.
• The company also announced a $25 billion share buyback and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, signaling confidence in its valuation and cash flow.

ARS Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,345 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 5,993 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 0.9% of ARS Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 285.7% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of CRM opened at $173.77 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $184.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.65. The firm has a market capitalization 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.52 and a 52 week high of $292.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.54%.

Insider Activity

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $281.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Salesforce from $200.00 to $188.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.82.

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.

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