Stephens Inc. AR Has $15.13 Million Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR cut its Salesforce stake by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 56,808 shares valued at about $15.13 million.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.81 versus $3.05 expected and revenue of $11.20 billion, up 12.1% year over year.
• The company’s board authorized a $25 billion share buyback and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, while analysts still largely rate the stock a Moderate Buy despite lower price targets from several firms.

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,808 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 10,949 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Novare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 35,245 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $9,337,000 after buying an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 12,131 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,219,000 after buying an additional 3,546 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 2,075,596 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $549,846,000 after buying an additional 417,511 shares in the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 48,300 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $12,795,000 after buying an additional 17,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 175.1% in the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 345,036 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $91,410,000 after buying an additional 219,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% 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 David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at $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. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $173.77 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.65. The stock has a market cap of $142.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.52 and a 1 year high of $292.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.82.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce’s stock rose after reports highlighted expanding AI momentum, solid financial performance, and a newly announced U.S. Air Force contract that bolsters confidence in demand for Agentforce and secure government cloud tools. Why Salesforce stock was surging today?
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce secured a $72 million U.S. Air Force agreement as part of a broader Department of Defense contract, expanding its footprint in highly regulated government environments and validating its AI platform for mission-critical workflows. Salesforce’s Air Force Deal Tests Agentforce’s Role In Secure Government AI
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce also gained attention after a new partnership with Moderna to use Agentforce Life Sciences to unify global operations, reinforcing the company’s AI and industry-specific software expansion. Salesforce (CRM), Moderna Partner to Unify Global Operations via Agentforce Life Sciences
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles pointed to Salesforce as a long-term value and trending stock, suggesting continued investor interest rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Why Salesforce (CRM) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term
• Negative Sentiment: Citi trimmed its price target on Salesforce to $188 from $200, citing weak enterprise software spending trends, which is a reminder that the broader software demand backdrop remains mixed. Citi Cuts PT on Salesforce (CRM) From $200 To $188 Amid Weak Enterprise Software Spending Trends

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.