Wesbanco Bank Inc. Cuts Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Wesbanco Bank Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 98,932 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 6,567 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 0.7% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $26,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aspire Growth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% in the third quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Mathes Company Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% in the third quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was 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 directly owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $181.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week high of $296.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $186.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.91. The company has a market capitalization of $148.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management 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 given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 22.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $281.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.18.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce launched Agentforce Operations, a new tool designed to automate complex enterprise workflows, and rising adoption of its Agentforce AI platform is helping reinforce the company’s AI growth story. Salesforce AI Shift Agentforce Operations Links Product Adoption To Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is also bringing Agentforce Sales to ChatGPT, which could expand the reach of its AI-driven CRM tools and support adoption with enterprise customers.
• Positive Sentiment: A new revenue reporting structure beginning in FY27 is intended to align disclosures more closely with Salesforce’s AI-led strategy, potentially making it easier for investors to track how AI products are contributing to growth. Salesforce Inc’s (CRM) New Reporting Structure To Give Better Insights Into AI Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party coverage continues to frame CRM as an AI and big-data beneficiary, with analysts highlighting Salesforce as a play on surging analytics demand and enterprise AI adoption. Top Big Data Stocks Powering the AI Boom as Analytics Demand Surges
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compare Salesforce with HubSpot and discuss its competitive position in CRM, but these pieces are more strategic than immediately market-moving.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage also raises a leadership succession question around Marc Benioff, which could create some overhang if investors become more focused on long-term governance and continuity risk. Beyond Benioff: Is Salesforce Ready for Life Without Its Founder?
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce has also been reported as falling in recent trading, suggesting investors may still be cautious despite the company’s AI initiatives.

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.