Poehling Capital Management INC. Has $5.89 Million Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Poehling Capital Management increased its Salesforce stake by 235.2% in Q1, ending with 31,545 shares valued at about $5.89 million.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $3.88 versus estimates of $3.13 and revenue of $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year over year.
• The company also highlighted shareholder returns, including a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share and a $25 billion share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy.

Poehling Capital Management INC. grew its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 235.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,545 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,133 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 1.2% of Poehling Capital Management INC.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Poehling Capital Management INC.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,843,166 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $23,800,353,000 after purchasing an additional 270,913 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 50,080,230 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $13,286,909,000 after buying an additional 659,573 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Salesforce by 24,056.7% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 47,385,511 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $12,552,896,000 after buying an additional 47,189,352 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Salesforce by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,721,010 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,019,199,000 after buying an additional 2,669,891 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,782,556 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,751,073,000 after buying an additional 791,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $158.23 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $175.56 and its 200-day moving average is $201.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.32 and a 52 week high of $276.80. The company has a market capitalization of $129.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 20.37%.

Salesforce declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $194.00 to $173.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler downgraded Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.61.

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating and a $240 price target on Salesforce, citing AI momentum and growth tied to Agentforce, which reinforces the bullish long-term case for the stock. TD Cowen Reaffirms Buy Rating on Salesforce (CRM) as AI Momentum and Agentforce Drive Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Salesforce’s Agentforce and broader AI strategy suggests the company is still seen as a serious player in enterprise AI, which may help offset fears that legacy software growth is slowing. Salesforce Agentforce: A Comprehensive Enterprise Cheat Sheet and Review
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces argue Salesforce has been overly sold off and may be undervalued after its post-earnings decline, but these are more valuation arguments than fresh catalysts. Salesforce: Taking Advantage Of The Market's Misunderstanding Of Enterprise Software
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s acquisition of m3ter to expand dynamic pricing tools adds to its AI CRM platform, but the immediate stock impact looks limited so far. Salesforce expands AI CRM with acquisition of m3ter for dynamic pricing
• Negative Sentiment: One article notes Salesforce is still down sharply since its last earnings report, reminding investors that sentiment remains fragile despite the recent rebound. Salesforce (CRM) Down 14.8% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Negative Sentiment: Another report says Salesforce is trying to defend its AI position with new tools for RIAs, but experts are raising concerns about cost, implementation, and benefits, which could limit enthusiasm. Salesforce tries to catch up on AI -- and halt precipitous stock slide -- with launch of 'Agentic Advisor' for RIAs

About Salesforce

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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