Salesforce Inc. $CRM Shares Sold by Orange Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Orange Investment Advisors cut its Salesforce stake by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,172 shares and leaving it with 31,509 shares valued at about $8.35 million.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.81 versus estimates of $3.05 and revenue of $11.20 billion, up 12.1% year over year.
• The company announced a $25 billion share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, while analyst sentiment remained mostly positive despite some bearish calls.

Orange Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,509 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 4,172 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.9% of Orange Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Orange Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aspire Growth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the third quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Mathes Company Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,976,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,548,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $176.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $144.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.14. 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 50-day moving average price of $182.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.21. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.52 and a twelve month high of $286.35.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 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 the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.78 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.54%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. The trade was 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a Buy rating on Salesforce with a $255 price target, saying it expects a “seasonally slow but steady” start to the period, while other analyst coverage remained generally constructive. Deutsche Bank Stays Positive on Salesforce (CRM), Citi Lowers PT
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce also announced an expanded relationship with Cint to deliver AI-powered support through Slack, reinforcing its push into “agentic enterprise” tools and highlighting continued customer adoption of its AI platform. Cint and Salesforce to Deliver the Next Generation of AI-Powered Support
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles pointed to strong earnings momentum and expectations that Salesforce could beat estimates again, with investors also focused on solid revenue trends and Agentforce traction. Will Salesforce (CRM) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is closely watching key operating metrics ahead of Q1 results, but these previews are mostly about expectations rather than a clear new catalyst. Wall Street's Insights Into Key Metrics Ahead of Salesforce (CRM) Q1 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America reinstated an Underperform rating and a $160 price target, citing concerns that AI could trigger a structural reset for software vendors like Salesforce. Salesforce rated ‘Underperform’ by Bank of America on AI growth concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Shares also slipped in the latest session, suggesting investors remain cautious despite the positive analyst commentary and AI-related growth story. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Salesforce from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.12.

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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