Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $1.69 Million Investment in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC opened a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter, buying 6,381 shares valued at about $1.69 million.
• Insider buying also stood out, with directors Laura Alber and David Blair Kirk each purchasing about 2,570 shares in March, signaling confidence in the company.
• Analysts remain mixed but mostly constructive: Salesforce has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, even as some firms trimmed price targets and the stock traded down around 2.4% near $171.22.

Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,381 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,691,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in 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 during the period. Mathes Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in 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 during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 2,774 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Salesforce from $194.00 to $173.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $259.26.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is getting credit for expanding its AI monetization strategy by acquiring m3ter, a usage-based metering and billing platform. The deal should help integrate consumption pricing into Agentforce Revenue Management, which could support revenue growth from AI products and make Salesforce more flexible for customers shifting away from pure subscription billing. Salesforce m3ter Deal Highlights Shift Toward Usage Based AI Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg-reported news that Salesforce’s stake in Anthropic has grown to about $5 billion reinforces the company’s AI exposure and may boost investor confidence that management has a meaningful position in one of the leading AI startups. Salesforce’s Anthropic Stake Reportedly Reaches $5 Billion as AI Startup Eyes IPO, Bloomberg Reports
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks note highlighted that Salesforce is trading near a 52-week low while Agentforce ARR is rising sharply and growth appears to be re-accelerating, suggesting the stock may look inexpensive relative to its long-term AI opportunity. Salesforce Trades Near 52-Week Low: Time to Hold the Stock or Exit?
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s presentation at the Mizuho Technology Conference did not include a clear new catalyst in the provided summary, but it kept management visible to investors amid heightened scrutiny on execution. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Presents at Mizuho Technology Conference 2026 Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party coverage also pointed to improving earnings quality and positive market reaction to the latest results, which supports the view that the company still has fundamental strength despite the recent pullback. Shareholders Can Be Confident That Salesforce's NYSE: CRM Earnings Are High Quality
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports about layoffs and severance packages are likely weighing on sentiment, as they underscore cost-cutting pressure and suggest management is still adjusting the workforce around slower-than-hoped AI adoption. Salesforce lays off employees in a new round of cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Articles noting AI competition pressure and a stock slide despite the earnings beat suggest investors remain concerned that rivals are limiting Salesforce’s growth outlook, even after strong quarterly results. AI Competition Pressured Salesforce (CRM) in Q1
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of layoffs amid AI concerns and a sharply lower stock price reflects continuing market skepticism about whether Salesforce’s AI investments will translate into faster near-term growth. Salesforce lays off 86 employees amid AI concerns, stock down 30%

Salesforce Trading Down 2.4%

Salesforce stock opened at $171.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.52 and a 52 week high of $276.80. The company has a market capitalization of $140.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.3 EPS for the current year.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 20.37%.

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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