Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Lowered to $280.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has reduced Salesforce's price target from $335.00 to $280.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.00% from the company's previous close.
• Salesforce reported a quarterly EPS of $2.91, beating analysts' expectations and showcasing a 9.8% year-over-year revenue increase with total revenue of $10.24 billion.
• Analyst ratings for Salesforce show a consensus of 24 Buy ratings, with an average price target of $336.21, despite recent target reductions from several firms.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) had its target price reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $335.00 to $280.00 in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the CRM provider's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $331.34.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $6.39 during trading on Thursday, reaching $250.40. The company had a trading volume of 13,010,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,763,446. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $255.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.39 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $226.48 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 16.87%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $543,375.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,876,644,396.50. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,077 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,773. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 123,325 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $33,630,000 after buying an additional 19,172 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $27,000. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $115,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 7.9% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 15,016 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,095,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 87,816 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $23,947,000 after buying an additional 9,834 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.