Vanguard Group Inc. Has $23.80 Billion Holdings in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its Q4 stake in Salesforce by 0.3% to 89,843,166 shares, representing about 9.59% of the company worth roughly $23.8 billion.
• Salesforce beat quarterly expectations with $3.81 EPS (vs. $3.05 est.) and $11.20B revenue (up 12.1% YoY), and issued FY2027 EPS guidance of 13.110–13.190 and Q1 guidance of 3.110–3.130.
• Management boosted shareholder returns by raising the quarterly dividend to $0.44 and authorizing a $25 billion share buyback program (about 14.1% of shares outstanding).

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,843,166 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 270,913 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.59% of Salesforce worth $23,800,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aspire Growth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 871 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mathes Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE CRM opened at $178.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.04. The company has a market capitalization of $145.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 and a 12 month high of $296.05.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $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. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $279.18.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was 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 owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bull case surfaced summarizing why investors should consider CRM — bullish Substack thesis highlighted valuation and AI upside. Is Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks reports Agentforce has reached ~$800M ARR with 169% growth, signaling tangible AI-driven revenue momentum that could support future upside. Agentforce Adoption Rises: Can It Be Salesforce's Next Growth Engine?
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage on partnership and capital return chatter (Google collaboration, $25B buyback commentary) reinforces strategic catalysts and management’s optionality on capital allocation. Salesforce (CRM) Stock: Google Partnership, $25B Buyback, and What Analysts Are Saying
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons with peers (ServiceNow) highlight valuation differences and competing AI execution — useful for relative‑value decisions but not company‑specific news. Cheap Salesforce Vs. Expensive ServiceNow: Which Stock Is A Better Buy Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: Montaka’s internal assessment coverage provides investor insight into hedge‑fund views but adds nuance rather than immediate directional pressure. Here’s Montaka’s Internal Assessment on Salesforce (CRM)
• Negative Sentiment: Articles warning AI could reduce demand for traditional CRM functions — a thematic risk that has driven some bearish calls and investor caution. Salesforce (CRM) Stock At Significant Risk Of Collapsing Due To AI
• Negative Sentiment: Sector‑wide panic after ServiceNow’s weak guidance pressured enterprise software, triggering steep intraday declines in CRM recently. Salesforce Just Dropped 9% on Sector Panic. Is the Cloud Software King on Sale?
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler trimmed its price target citing rising AI competition in enterprise software — analyst downgrades/cuts can cap near‑term upside. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) PT Reduced as Piper Sandler Flags Rising AI Competition in Enterprise Software

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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