Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 200,515 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its Salesforce stake by 12.4%, selling 200,515 shares to hold 1,418,467 shares worth about $375.8 million (≈0.15% of the company).
• Salesforce topped quarterly expectations with $3.81 EPS vs. $3.05 expected and $11.20 billion in revenue (up 12.1% year-over-year), and its board authorized a $25 billion share buyback program.
• Institutional investors own about 80.43% of Salesforce; analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $279.18, while the stock trades near $185.52 and remains well below its 52-week high.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,418,467 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 200,515 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Salesforce worth $375,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,636,161 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $484,852,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 285.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,487,627 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $589,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,117 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $431,157,000. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,729,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $185.52 on Tuesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.52 and a 12-month high of $296.05. The stock has a market cap of $151.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.14. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $186.67 and its 200-day moving average is $220.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.78 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.54%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CRM. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Salesforce from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays cut their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce deepens ChatGPT integrations to automate CRM workflows — this expands generative-AI functionality inside Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, which could accelerate adoption and drive higher ARPU for enterprise customers. Salesforce deepens AI integration with ChatGPT for CRM workflows
• Positive Sentiment: New Salesforce–Google Cloud AI workflow integrations broaden partnership reach (including SMB tools), which should help Salesforce embed into Google Cloud customers and compete on analytics/AI features. Partnership breadth is constructive for long-term enterprise wins. Salesforce and Google Cloud unveil AI-powered workflow integrations
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/commentary pieces flag CRM as a top long-term growth stock — bullish narratives (Zacks, MSN) emphasize strong margin profile, recurring revenue and positioning in the AI transition. That support helps sentiment after recent weakness. Why Salesforce (CRM) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Competitive analysis argues Salesforce is better positioned than legacy rivals (Oracle) in the cloud+AI push — a narrative likely to attract investors rotating into software names expected to capture recurring SaaS AI spend. Salesforce vs Oracle: There's Only One Winner In the Cloud AI Push
• Neutral Sentiment: General stock-screen coverage asks whether CRM is a buy after its pullback — useful for traders and value investors but not game-changing news on its own. Is Trending Stock Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) a Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader articles place Salesforce in the context of where AI economics sit (vs. semiconductors like NVDA) — important framing but indirect for near-term share moves. While NVDA Dominates Headlines, Here's Where the Real AI Economics Are Hiding
• Negative Sentiment: Industry-wide AI spend is being debated against large tech layoffs and cost reallocation; this macro/tech-cost conversation could pressure multiples and hiring cycles for enterprise buyers. Is Big Tech's $725B AI splurge being funded by mass layoffs?
• Negative Sentiment: Shares remain well off their 52-week high and analysts note a large YTD decline, keeping downside sensitivity if growth or AI monetization slows. Is Salesforce (CRM) Now An Opportunity After A 27.5% Year To Date Share Price Slide?

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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