Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Falls 2.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Salesforce shares fell 2.9% to approximately $227.17 in Monday trading, with volume about 27% below the average daily level.
• Despite the decline, Wall Street sentiment remains positive: analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $275.14 target price, while several firms recently raised targets to $300.
• Salesforce reported quarterly earnings of $5.90 per share, well above the $3.27 consensus estimate, on $11.35 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) traded down 2.9% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $221.18 and last traded at $227.1710. Approximately 10,249,747 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 13,953,851 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Argus upped their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.14.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $186.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm's 50 day moving average is $215.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.55.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.91 EPS. 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 predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 410.3% during the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc NYSE: CRM develops cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software and enterprise applications. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, analytics, data integration and collaboration through subscription-based services.

The company's product portfolio includes Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Salesforce Platform, Data Cloud and Tableau. Salesforce also offers MuleSoft integration technology, Slack collaboration software and artificial intelligence capabilities through its Einstein platform.

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