Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Cornerstone Wealth Management boosted its Salesforce stake by 137.5% in the fourth quarter, while other institutional investors also increased holdings; hedge funds and institutions now own 80.43% of the company.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.81 versus estimates of $3.05 and revenue of $11.20 billion, up 12.1% year over year.
• The company’s board approved a $25 billion share repurchase program and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, signaling confidence in the business and returning more capital to shareholders.

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 137.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,563 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 6,115 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 159.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,106,255,000 after buying an additional 10,636,161 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $484,852,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 285.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,487,627 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $589,568,000 after buying an additional 1,842,117 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $431,157,000. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,051,119 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,753,519,000 after buying an additional 1,729,440 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.7%

CRM stock opened at $173.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $184.17 and a 200 day moving average of $215.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.14. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.52 and a 52 week high of $292.17.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.78 EPS. The business'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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.54%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

More Salesforce News

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $223.00 to $194.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $281.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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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