Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 10,044 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its Salesforce stake by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,044 shares and ending with 100,039 shares valued at about $26.5 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 authorized a $25 billion share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, while analysts kept a generally positive outlook with a Moderate Buy consensus target of $278.82.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,039 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 10,044 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Salesforce were worth $26,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 285.7% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce News Summary

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CRM opened at $173.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $142.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.37. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.52 and a 1 year high of $292.17.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. 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, analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $0.44 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $223.00 to $194.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $281.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.82.

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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