Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. Invests $2.73 Million in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Jones Kertz & Associates acquired 10,293 shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in Q4, a new position valued at about $2.73 million that represents 1.4% of the firm's holdings and is its 24th largest stake.
• Salesforce beat Q4 expectations with $3.81 EPS vs. $3.05 and $11.20 billion in revenue (+12.1% YoY), while the company authorized a $25.00 billion buyback (up to ~14.1% of shares) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44.
• Market sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a $279.18 target, several firms have cut price targets, institutional ownership is high at 80.43%, and insiders have recently bought shares amid a sizable YTD decline in the stock.

Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,293 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,727,000. Salesforce accounts for 1.4% of Jones Kertz & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,572,253 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $21,228,624,000 after buying an additional 748,772 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,420,657 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $11,732,966,000 after purchasing an additional 159,739 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 9.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,051,119 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,753,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,440 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 159.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,106,255,000 after purchasing an additional 10,636,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,155,512 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,695,856,000 after purchasing an additional 754,116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $186.10 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $152.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $187.71 and a 200 day moving average of $223.59. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.52 and a 52 week high of $296.05.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. The firm'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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to purchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $223.00 to $194.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays dropped their target price 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, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.18.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Marc Benioff says AI creates more opportunity than threat and that SaaS replacement fears are overblown — helping calm investors worried about churn. Marc Benioff Says the Software Bears Are All Wrong About Salesforce
• Positive Sentiment: Management is publicly framing AI as a revenue accelerator for SaaS, saying AI will create new product and sales motion opportunities rather than simply displace subscriptions. Salesforce CEO says in interview SaaS not dead as AI creates opportunities
• Positive Sentiment: Traders are responding to management’s AI demonstrations — Benzinga cites Agentforce and “Agenticware” updates as reasons for intraday buying. Why Is Salesforce Stock Charging Higher On Monday?
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced a sizable AI initiative called “Headless 360,” signaling product road‑map investment that could support long‑term ARR expansion. Salesforce Announces Huge AI Initiative and Calls It ‘Headless 360’
• Positive Sentiment: Large investors are adding to AI bets and reports show Bridgewater/Ray Dalio has meaningful exposure to Salesforce, which can boost investor confidence. Billionaire Ray Dalio Is Betting Big on These 4 AI Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: General investor interest in CRM remains high and analysts are debating valuation and risk/reward; Zacks flags both attention and the need to weigh fundamentals vs. AI disruption. Is Most-Watched Stock Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Worth Betting on Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage highlights that CRM is down materially YTD (reports cite ~30% YTD) as investors fear AI could undermine traditional subscription revenue models. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Plunges 30% YTD as AI Threatens Traditional SaaS Revenue Model
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary warns investors to trim software exposure amid the Nasdaq rally, calling out potential downside for software names like Salesforce if AI pressures margins/renewals. The Nasdaq's Historic Rally Doesn't Mean the Risk Is Gone (CRM)

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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