Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Sold by Heartland Bank & Trust Co

Key Points

• Heartland Bank & Trust cut its Salesforce stake by 77.5% in Q4, selling 4,498 shares and leaving 1,309 shares worth about $347,000.
• Salesforce beat Q4 estimates (EPS $3.81 vs. $3.05; revenue $11.20B) and set FY‑2027 EPS guidance of 13.110–13.190 while announcing a $25 billion share buyback and raising its quarterly dividend to $0.44.
• Several analysts trimmed price targets but the consensus remains a Moderate Buy (target $279.18), and two directors personally bought shares, increasing their ownership.

Heartland Bank & Trust Co decreased its position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 77.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,309 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 4,498 shares during the quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co's holdings in Salesforce were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $185.52 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $163.52 and a 1 year high of $296.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.18.

Salesforce News Roundup

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 Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Company 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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