King Luther Capital Management Corp Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management reduced its Salesforce stake by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 24,691 shares and leaving it with 244,175 shares valued at about $64.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 80.43% of Salesforce shares. Several firms, including Capital World Investors and Alyeska, significantly increased their positions.
• Salesforce reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates and slightly topping revenue expectations, while the board also approved a $25 billion share repurchase program. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a target price of $274.12.

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,175 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 24,691 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Salesforce were worth $64,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Capital World Investors boosted its position in 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. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $484,852,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in Salesforce by 285.4% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,487,627 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $589,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,117 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $431,157,000. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Salesforce from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.12.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $179.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week high of $278.81. The firm has a market cap of $146.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $181.63 and its 200 day moving average is $211.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

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

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects an in-line Q1 and sees second-half growth as the key catalyst, pointing to partner survey data showing many customers finished the quarter on plan or above it, along with projected revenue growth of 12.5% and current remaining performance obligations growth of 14%. Salesforce earnings preview: Jefferies eyes in-line Q1, second-half growth key
• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish commentary argues Salesforce is undervalued and highlights strong margins, free cash flow, and accelerating AI monetization through Agentforce, which could support sentiment if management shows progress on earnings day. Salesforce: The Most Undervalued Stock In The Software Space
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed its buy rating and set a $255 price target, signaling Wall Street still sees meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on BTIG rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Several previews frame upcoming earnings as a key test for Salesforce’s AI narrative, with investors waiting to see whether Agentforce can meaningfully improve bookings and subscription growth. Agentforce to Boost Salesforce's Subscription Revenue Growth in Q1
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America downgraded Salesforce to Underperform, warning that AI may become a bigger risk for the company than a growth engine if monetization lags. ServiceNow Vs Salesforce: BofA Reveals Why AI Is 'Growth Engine' For One And 'Major Risk' For The Other
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes that Salesforce shares have fallen sharply year to date, reflecting investor concern that the company has to deliver a stronger earnings and AI update to reverse the trend. Salesforce (CRM) Earnings Preview: Q1 Results Expected Wednesday Amid 32% YTD Decline

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% 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 David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the purchase, the director owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

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.

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.