Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 2.3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Salesforce shares fell 2.3% to about $224.52, with trading volume roughly 47% below the average session level.
• Despite the decline, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with a consensus price target of $275.14 versus the recent share price.
• Salesforce reported strong quarterly results, including $5.90 in EPS versus $3.27 expected and 10.8% year-over-year revenue growth; it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.3% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $222.89 and last traded at $224.5220. 7,278,009 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 13,818,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price (up from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.14.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.3%

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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.02. The company has a market capitalization of $184.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.26.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%.The business's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 4,176 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 trade represents a 28.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Krane Funds Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 8,254 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,187,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,098 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc raised its position in Salesforce by 5.5% during the first quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strata Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.3% in the first quarter. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.