Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 6,590 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings increased its Salesforce stake by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 6,590 additional shares and lifting its position to 98,707 shares valued at about $26.1 million.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.81 versus the $3.05 consensus and revenue of $11.20 billion, up 12.1% year over year.
• The company also announced a $25 billion share repurchase program and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, signaling confidence in its valuation and cash generation.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,707 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,590 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $26,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $181.67 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.52 and a 12-month high of $296.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $186.78 and a 200-day moving average of $218.91. The firm has a market cap of $148.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The business had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 22.54%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Northland Securities dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.18.

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 shares were bought at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce launched Agentforce Operations, a new tool designed to automate complex enterprise workflows, and rising adoption of its Agentforce AI platform is helping reinforce the company’s AI growth story. Salesforce AI Shift Agentforce Operations Links Product Adoption To Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is also bringing Agentforce Sales to ChatGPT, which could expand the reach of its AI-driven CRM tools and support adoption with enterprise customers.
• Positive Sentiment: A new revenue reporting structure beginning in FY27 is intended to align disclosures more closely with Salesforce’s AI-led strategy, potentially making it easier for investors to track how AI products are contributing to growth. Salesforce Inc’s (CRM) New Reporting Structure To Give Better Insights Into AI Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party coverage continues to frame CRM as an AI and big-data beneficiary, with analysts highlighting Salesforce as a play on surging analytics demand and enterprise AI adoption. Top Big Data Stocks Powering the AI Boom as Analytics Demand Surges
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compare Salesforce with HubSpot and discuss its competitive position in CRM, but these pieces are more strategic than immediately market-moving.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage also raises a leadership succession question around Marc Benioff, which could create some overhang if investors become more focused on long-term governance and continuity risk. Beyond Benioff: Is Salesforce Ready for Life Without Its Founder?
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce has also been reported as falling in recent trading, suggesting investors may still be cautious despite the company’s AI initiatives.

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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