Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Falls 1.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Salesforce shares fell 1.4% to about $225.87, below the 50-day moving average of $238.94 but above the 200-day average of $198.88.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.98, implying upside from the current price.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $11.35 billion and EPS of $5.90, beating estimates, while revenue increased 10.8% year over year. Salesforce also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.44, yielding approximately 0.8%.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) traded down 1.4% on Monday. The company traded as low as $225.15 and last traded at $225.8660. 6,580,760 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 13,213,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Barclays downgraded shares of Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. Argus upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.98.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4%

The firm's 50 day moving average is $238.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.88. The firm has a market cap of $185.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 16.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 4,176 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 18,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. This trade represents a 28.66% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. This represents a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,396,844,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,914,086,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 130.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,659,217 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,363,096,000 after acquiring an additional 7,160,302 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $927,332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $844,928,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc NYSE: CRM is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company's products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.

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