Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Sells 26,901 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 123,685 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 26,901 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 2.5% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $29,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 126 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank increased its position in Salesforce by 658.8% during the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $192.19 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.27. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.57 and a 52-week high of $313.70.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 14.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 22.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CRM. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Salesforce from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Macquarie Infrastructure upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.56.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted Q4 earnings topped expectations — Salesforce reported an adjusted EPS beat and revenue roughly in line with consensus, showing continued margin progress and revenue growth year-over-year. Q4 results & transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised forward profit targets: Q1 FY2027 EPS guidance of $3.110–$3.130 and FY2027 EPS guidance of $13.110–$13.190 both materially exceed Street consensus — a clear positive signal for future EPS trajectory (company guidance released 2/25/2026).
• Positive Sentiment: Large shareholder-friendly action — Salesforce committed to a sizable buyback program (reported as ~$50 billion), which supports EPS and provides a backstop for the stock. Buyback coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue guidance mixed but broadly in-line: Q1 revenue guidance of $11.0–$11.1B is at/just above consensus, while FY revenue guidance ($45.8–$46.2B) centers near the Street forecast — supports stable top-line growth though not a clear upside catalyst. Revenue outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Operating cash flow strength — cash from operations jumped year-over-year (helping liquidity), even as cash balances and liabilities shifted; useful context for buybacks and capital allocation decisions. Cash flow and balance-sheet details
• Negative Sentiment: After-hours weakness and investor caution — despite the EPS beat, shares slid after hours as participants focused on revenue nuances and the company’s “stable” top‑line growth outlook; some analysts trimmed targets or downgraded, putting downward pressure on the stock. After-hours reaction
• Negative Sentiment: AI disruption narrative and sentiment risk — ongoing market anxiety that generative AI could displace parts of the enterprise software stack continues to weigh on valuation multiples for Salesforce and peers, contributing to volatility. AI concerns coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/analyst dynamics — large insider share sales reported and mixed analyst moves (some price-target cuts despite buy ratings from others) add short-term selling pressure and uncertainty about near-term sentiment. Insider & analyst activity

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total value of $929,259.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,271.30. This represents a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 1,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $258.64 per share, for a total transaction of $500,727.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,761,499.28. The trade was a 22.15% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.