Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Bought by Avestar Capital LLC

Key Points

• Avestar Capital increased its Salesforce stake by 418.7% in the third quarter, ending with 8,491 shares valued at approximately $1.95 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.43% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with Salesforce receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $278.98, despite Wells Fargo downgrading the stock to “strong sell.”
• Salesforce recently reported adjusted earnings of $5.90 per share and quarterly revenue of $11.35 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, equal to a 0.8% annualized yield.

Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 418.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,491 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,854 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 6,422 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.5% in the third quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 3,396 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% in the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,700 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,549 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 17th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They issued a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.98.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 4,176 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the acquisition, the director owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. This trade represents a 28.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $228.56 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $238.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.88. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.32 and a 1-year high of $269.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $2.63. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The business's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.91 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rune Technologies, a defense-technology company. The deal supports Salesforce’s push into military and government applications, potentially expanding its addressable market and adding a specialized technology platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Rune Technologies
• Positive Sentiment: TPM Holdings completed an 18-month realignment centered on Salesforce CRM and artificial intelligence for the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Its combination of TrebleHook and The Hunley Group could expand Salesforce-based implementations and demonstrate growing demand for industry-specific AI tools. TPM Holdings Accelerates Investment in AI and Salesforce CRM
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and investment articles describe Salesforce as a potential AI rebound candidate, citing autonomous AI agents, improving monetization, strong free cash flow and its leadership in customer relationship management. These views may support longer-term sentiment, although they are not new company guidance. AI Comeback Story Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s earnings report is approaching, making upcoming revenue growth, AI adoption, margins and forward guidance the main near-term catalysts. The company’s latest reported quarter included revenue of $11.35 billion and adjusted earnings that exceeded consensus estimates. Salesforce Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce declined in sympathy with ServiceNow, Fortinet and other software stocks after investors focused on slower contracted-revenue growth despite earnings beats and higher AI targets. The reaction has renewed concerns about enterprise-software demand, AI monetization timelines and elevated sector valuations. ServiceNow Results Dent Software Stocks

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc NYSE: CRM is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company's products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.

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