Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Salesforce's board approved a $25.0 billion share repurchase plan (up to 14.1% of outstanding shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.44, signaling management's intent to return capital and support the stock.
• QRG Capital increased its stake in Salesforce by 6.7% to 142,489 shares (about $37.7M), while institutional investors own roughly 80.43% of the company and several other funds and insiders have recently added to positions.
• Salesforce beat earnings estimates with $3.81 EPS vs. $3.05 expected and $11.20B revenue, provided FY27 EPS guidance of 13.110–13.190 (Q1 3.110–3.130), and the stock trades near $185 with a consensus analyst target of $279.18 (Moderate Buy).

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 142,489 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,909 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $37,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1,145.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 12,017 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 98.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,085,000 after acquiring an additional 10,633 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $44,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,233 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $113,420,000 after purchasing an additional 61,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 42.2% during the 3rd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $66,610,000 after purchasing an additional 83,403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9%

CRM stock opened at $185.52 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $151.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.52 and a 1-year high of $296.05. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $186.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to purchase up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 22.54%.

More Salesforce News

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?

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, 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, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $223.00 to $194.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.18.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.