Convergence Investment Partners LLC Increases Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Convergence Investment Partners boosted its Salesforce stake by 706.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 9,846 shares valued at about $2.61 million.
• Salesforce reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $3.81 beating estimates and revenue of $11.20 billion slightly topping expectations; revenue also rose 12.1% year over year.
• The company authorized a $25 billion share buyback and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, signaling confidence in its valuation and cash generation.

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 706.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,846 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,625 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in Salesforce by 1,145.6% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 12,017 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 98.3% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,085,000 after acquiring an additional 10,633 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co raised its position in Salesforce by 2.3% in the third quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $44,336,000 after acquiring an additional 4,233 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Salesforce by 15.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $113,420,000 after acquiring an additional 61,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in Salesforce by 42.2% in the third quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $66,610,000 after acquiring an additional 83,403 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of CRM opened at $173.77 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $184.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.52 and a 1-year high of $292.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.Salesforce's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.78 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. Analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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 paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $200.00 to $188.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.82.

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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