Cornerstone Planning LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Cornerstone Planning LLC disclosed a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter, buying 10,464 shares valued at about $2.78 million.
• Salesforce also drew a mix of analyst reactions: Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded it to buy with a $200 target, while other firms trimmed targets or kept more cautious ratings. Overall, analysts still view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average target of $257.61.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $3.88 EPS on $11.13 billion in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend plus a $25 billion share buyback program.

Cornerstone Planning LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,464 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,784,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Salesforce to buy from neutral and set a $200 price target, signaling roughly 32% upside and citing valuation appeal plus AI-related gains. Monness upgrades Salesforce stock on valuation, AI gains; sees 31% upside
• Positive Sentiment: Truist reiterated confidence in Salesforce following its $3.6 billion acquisition of Fin, a move that could strengthen the company’s AI/customer-agent product lineup. Salesforce (CRM) Earns Vote of Confidence from Truist after $3.6 Billion Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Salesforce as a long-term growth name and an AI beneficiary, with bullish coverage around its Agentforce strategy and generative AI positioning. Why Salesforce (CRM) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparison pieces versus Oracle and broad stock-picking articles suggest investors are weighing Salesforce’s slower recent performance against its AI growth narrative rather than reacting to a single new catalyst. Oracle vs. Salesforce: Which Tech Giant Is The Better Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: A recent commentary noted that Salesforce stock has fallen sharply this year, reflecting investor concern about execution, growth expectations, and the company’s discounted valuation versus past highs. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Plunges 41% This Year — A Buying Opportunity Emerges?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie Infrastructure dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Northland Securities cut their price target on Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.61.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $151.67 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $177.42 and a 200-day moving average of $204.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.80 and a 12 month high of $276.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

Salesforce announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CRM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.