Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Purchased by World Investment Advisors

Key Points

• World Investment Advisors increased its Salesforce stake by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 4,329 shares to bring its holdings to 72,134 shares worth about $18.6 million.
• Salesforce posted stronger-than-expected earnings, reporting $3.81 EPS on $11.20 billion in revenue, while also guiding FY 2027 EPS higher and announcing continued investment in AI products like Agentforce and Data 360.
• The company is returning capital to shareholders through a new $25 billion share buyback authorization and a higher quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, up from $0.42 previously.

World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,134 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,329 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 12,017 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 98.3% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,085,000 after acquiring an additional 10,633 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co raised its position in Salesforce by 2.3% during the third quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $44,336,000 after acquiring an additional 4,233 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Salesforce by 15.1% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $113,420,000 after acquiring an additional 61,270 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in Salesforce by 42.2% during the third quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $66,610,000 after acquiring an additional 83,403 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $171.28 on Wednesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week high of $296.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.19. 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 earnings results 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 net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 22.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce continues to generate strong cash flow, with fiscal 2026 free cash flow of about $14.4 billion supporting shareholder returns and investments in AI products like Agentforce and Data 360.
• Positive Sentiment: Broker coverage remains constructive overall, with analysts describing CRM as a “Moderate Buy”, which can help support investor confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its price target on Salesforce from $200 to $188 while keeping a neutral rating, signaling more cautious expectations but still implying some upside from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterated a Hold rating, reinforcing a mixed Wall Street view rather than a clear bullish or bearish shift.
• Neutral Sentiment: News reports noted that Salesforce has been trading at a discounted valuation after its recent slide, with investors weighing the stock’s lower price against improving recurring revenue from Agentforce and Data Cloud.
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce slipped more than the broader market in the latest session, reflecting ongoing investor caution around the stock’s recent weakness.
• Negative Sentiment: A research note highlighted that the Salesforce delivery lifecycle is “broken,” pointing to execution inefficiencies and operational friction that could weigh on sentiment if not addressed.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $200.00 to $188.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.82.

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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