Praxis Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Praxis Investment Management increased its stake in Salesforce by 91.8%, adding 12,179 shares to hold 25,449 shares valued at about $6.74 million at quarter-end.
• Salesforce beat Q4 estimates with $3.81 EPS vs. $3.05 and $11.20B in revenue, set FY2027 EPS guidance of 13.110–13.190, and the board authorized a $25 billion share buyback while raising the quarterly dividend to $0.44.
• Analysts have trimmed some price targets but consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $279.18, and two directors each bought roughly 2,570 shares at about $194.6, signaling insider confidence.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 91.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,449 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 12,179 shares during the quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 10,198 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,781,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Salesforce from $223.00 to $194.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.1%

NYSE:CRM opened at $181.17 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.31. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $163.52 and a one year high of $296.05. The firm has a market cap of $148.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.14. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion for 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%. Salesforce's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.78 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.54%.

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

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reoriented around AI agents and launched Agentforce Operations to automate cross-system back-office work — a strategic shift that underpins Salesforce’s long-term growth story and supports upgraded revenue targets. Salesforce (CRM) Launches Agentforce Operations to Automate Complex Cross-System Back-Office Tasks
• Positive Sentiment: Deeper Google Cloud integration and new AI-focused revenue segments are being highlighted as catalysts that could expand addressable market and support valuation upside as agents get traction. Salesforce (CRM) Valuation Check As AI Agent Push And Google Cloud Integration Gain Traction
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial traction: Merck Animal Health selected Salesforce’s Agentforce Life Sciences for customer engagement, signaling enterprise demand for the new agent-driven offerings. Merck Animal Health Selects Salesforce’s Agentforce Life Sciences for Customer Engagement to Transform Animal Care and Enhance Support Experiences for Employees
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional/analyst support: Barclays named CRM a top pick in infrastructure software and high-profile investors have touted the name; sell-side consensus remains “Buy,” which can provide a floor for sentiment. Is the Market Missing the Point on Salesforce Inc (CRM)’s AI Positioning?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings are positive on average, but some commentary warns that consensus recommendations can be overly optimistic — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Wall Street Analysts See Salesforce (CRM) as a Buy: Should You Invest?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and peer comparisons (e.g., CRM vs. SPOT) are being debated — useful for longer-term allocation decisions but mixed in terms of near-term price impact. CRM vs. SPOT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are down despite broader market gains; investors are likely taking profits and reacting to the stock’s weak year-to-date performance and lingering valuation concerns. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note
• Negative Sentiment: Competition with Microsoft and other large cloud/AI players is intensifying around AI agents — the rivalry increases execution risk and could pressure multiples if market leaders consolidate share. Salesforce and Microsoft escalate AI agent rivalry in CRM

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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