Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Sold by Delta Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Salesforce's board authorized a $25 billion share repurchase (up to 14.1% of shares) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44, a move that signals management confidence in the stock.
• The company beat expectations for the quarter with $3.81 EPS vs. $3.05 consensus and $11.20 billion in revenue (up 12.1% year-over-year), and set FY2027 EPS guidance of 13.110–13.190.
• Delta Investment Management cut its stake in Salesforce by 69.4% to 1,393 shares (worth $369,000), while insiders Director David Kirk and Director Laura Alber each purchased ~2,570 shares at about $194.6; institutional investors hold 80.43% of the stock.

Delta Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 69.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,393 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,157 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 159.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,106,255,000 after purchasing an additional 10,636,161 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $484,852,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 285.4% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,487,627 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $589,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,117 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $431,157,000. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 9.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,051,119 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,753,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the company'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 acquisition, the director owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $176.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $144.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $163.52 and a one year high of $296.05. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $186.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.45.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.18.

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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