Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Acquired by SFE Investment Counsel

Key Points

• SFE Investment Counsel boosted its Salesforce stake by 82.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 7,871 shares to bring its total to 17,394 shares valued at about $4.61 million.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.81 beating estimates and revenue of $11.20 billion slightly above forecasts, while revenue rose 12.1% year over year.
• The company also approved a $25 billion share repurchase plan and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, signaling confidence in its cash flow and capital-return strategy.

SFE Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 82.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,394 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,871 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 285.7% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce’s strong free cash flow remains a key support for the stock, with roughly $14.4 billion generated in fiscal 2026 and substantial capital available for shareholder returns and AI initiatives such as Agentforce and Data 360.
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains constructive overall, with analysts assigning Salesforce an average rating of “Moderate Buy,” which can help offset some near-term weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup cut its price target on Salesforce to $188 from $200 while keeping a neutral rating, signaling tempered expectations rather than a major deterioration in the company’s outlook. Salesforce NYSE: CRM Given New $188.00 Price Target at Citigroup
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterated its hold rating on Salesforce, reinforcing the view that analysts see the stock as fairly valued after recent gains. Wells Fargo Sticks to Its Hold Rating for Salesforce (CRM)
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce has been slipping more than the broader market in recent sessions, reflecting investor caution and some profit-taking after the stock’s recent rally. Salesforce (CRM) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $165.96 on Thursday. 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 $135.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.56.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce's quarterly 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 analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $281.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.82.

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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