Global Retirement Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its Salesforce stake by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,616 shares to bring its total to 25,208 shares worth about $6.68 million.
• Several other large institutions also boosted positions in Salesforce, and hedge funds and other institutional investors now own 80.43% of the company’s shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: some firms kept positive ratings and price targets, but others cut targets or turned cautious due to slower deal activity, competitive pressure, and concerns about Salesforce’s AI outlook.

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,208 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 5,616 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,843,166 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $23,800,353,000 after buying an additional 270,913 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,420,657 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $11,732,966,000 after buying an additional 159,739 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Salesforce by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,051,119 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,753,519,000 after buying an additional 1,729,440 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Salesforce by 159.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,106,255,000 after buying an additional 10,636,161 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Salesforce by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,155,512 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,695,856,000 after buying an additional 754,116 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank reiterated its Buy rating on Salesforce and kept a $255 price target, saying it expects a “seasonally slow but steady” start ahead of earnings. Deutsche Bank Stays Positive on Salesforce (CRM), Citi Lowers PT
• Positive Sentiment: Cint expanded its relationship with Salesforce to deliver next-generation AI-powered support, reinforcing demand for Salesforce’s Agentforce and Slack-based enterprise AI tools. Cint and Salesforce to Deliver the Next Generation of AI-Powered Support
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Salesforce as a beneficiary of ongoing investor interest in AI and big data, and noted that the company’s upcoming earnings report is expected to show growth and could support another beat. Wall Street's Insights Into Key Metrics Ahead of Salesforce (CRM) Q1 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary around CRM remains mixed overall, with some broker notes still constructive while valuation-focused pieces question how much growth and AI moat are already priced in.
• Negative Sentiment: Citi reportedly lowered its price target on Salesforce due to slower deal activity and rising competitive pressure, adding to investor caution. Citi Lowers Target on Salesforce (CRM) Over Slower Deal Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America reinstated an Underperform rating and a $160 price target, arguing Salesforce faces an “AI-driven structural reset,” which weighed on sentiment. Salesforce rated ‘Underperform’ by Bank of America on AI growth concerns

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.12.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $176.35 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 and a 12 month high of $286.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.21.

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

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

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 22.54%.

Salesforce Company 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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