Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Purchased by Carmel Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 222.3%, buying an additional 6,841 shares to hold 9,919 shares valued at about $2.63 million.
• Salesforce's board authorized a $25.0 billion share buyback (up to ~14.1% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share (annualized yield ~1.0%).
• The company beat quarterly estimates (EPS $3.81 vs. $3.05 consensus; revenue $11.20B) and set FY2027 guidance of $13.11–13.19 EPS, while directors Laura Alber and David Blair Kirk each purchased roughly 2,570 shares.

Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 222.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,919 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 6,841 shares during the quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,843,166 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $23,800,353,000 after acquiring an additional 270,913 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,420,657 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $11,732,966,000 after acquiring an additional 159,739 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Salesforce by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,051,119 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,753,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,440 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted 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 worth $4,106,255,000 after purchasing an additional 10,636,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,155,512 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,695,856,000 after purchasing an additional 754,116 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $178.31 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.52 and a 52 week high of $296.05. The stock's fifty day moving average is $187.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.04. The company has a market capitalization of $145.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The company's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. 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 payout ratio is 22.54%.

Salesforce announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $281.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $223.00 to $194.00 and set an "underperform" 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $279.18.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bull case surfaced summarizing why investors should consider CRM — bullish Substack thesis highlighted valuation and AI upside. Is Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks reports Agentforce has reached ~$800M ARR with 169% growth, signaling tangible AI-driven revenue momentum that could support future upside. Agentforce Adoption Rises: Can It Be Salesforce's Next Growth Engine?
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage on partnership and capital return chatter (Google collaboration, $25B buyback commentary) reinforces strategic catalysts and management’s optionality on capital allocation. Salesforce (CRM) Stock: Google Partnership, $25B Buyback, and What Analysts Are Saying
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons with peers (ServiceNow) highlight valuation differences and competing AI execution — useful for relative‑value decisions but not company‑specific news. Cheap Salesforce Vs. Expensive ServiceNow: Which Stock Is A Better Buy Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: Montaka’s internal assessment coverage provides investor insight into hedge‑fund views but adds nuance rather than immediate directional pressure. Here’s Montaka’s Internal Assessment on Salesforce (CRM)
• Negative Sentiment: Articles warning AI could reduce demand for traditional CRM functions — a thematic risk that has driven some bearish calls and investor caution. Salesforce (CRM) Stock At Significant Risk Of Collapsing Due To AI
• Negative Sentiment: Sector‑wide panic after ServiceNow’s weak guidance pressured enterprise software, triggering steep intraday declines in CRM recently. Salesforce Just Dropped 9% on Sector Panic. Is the Cloud Software King on Sale?
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler trimmed its price target citing rising AI competition in enterprise software — analyst downgrades/cuts can cap near‑term upside. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) PT Reduced as Piper Sandler Flags Rising AI Competition in Enterprise Software

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.

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