Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Salesforce has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 45 brokerages, with the average 12-month price target at about $254.42.
• The company’s latest quarter topped expectations, with EPS of $3.88 versus $3.13 expected and revenue of $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year over year.
• Salesforce also authorized a $25 billion share repurchase program and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, signaling confidence in its valuation and cash generation.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, twenty-eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $254.4211.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Northland Securities decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Salesforce to a "negative" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of Salesforce from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $163.32 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $174.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.62. The stock has a market cap of $133.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Salesforce has a one year low of $146.32 and a one year high of $276.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 10.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce to Buy and argued that recent selloff levels make the shares more attractive, helping lift sentiment around the stock. Salesforce Will Face AI Disruption but Stock Still Gets an Upgrade to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Other commentary echoed the upgrade, with analysts saying Salesforce and other beaten-down software names may be poised for a rebound after recent pressure. Upgrade Boosts 2 Beaten-Down Software Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Citizens reiterated a Market Outperform rating following Salesforce’s Fin acquisition and Agentforce expansion, reinforcing the bull case that AI and product integration can support future upside. Citizens Reiterates Market Outperform Rating on Salesforce (CRM) Following Fin Acquisition and Agentforce Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted that Salesforce has fallen sharply over the past month and June, which frames the stock as a deep pullback candidate but also shows ongoing investor skepticism about growth and AI monetization. Salesforce (CRM) Down More Than 10% Over the Past Month, Here’s What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue debating Salesforce’s AI growth outlook, with some trimming fair value estimates while others say recent weakness may have overdone concerns around AI “hallucination” and competition. Salesforce (CRM) Stock Sees Modest Fair Value Cut As Analysts Debate AI Growth

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.

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