Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Hits New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• New 52-week low: CRM hit a new 52-week low this week, trading as low as $169.93 (last around $167.80) with the stock well below its 50‑day ($191.71) and 200‑day ($227.44) moving averages.
• Analyst cuts but consensus still positive: Several firms (TD Cowen, BMO, DA Davidson, Piper Sandler, JPMorgan) trimmed price targets, yet the MarketBeat consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $280.21.
• Solid quarter and shareholder returns: Salesforce beat EPS ($3.81 vs. $3.05 est.) and revenue expectations, provided FY‑2027 EPS guidance, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44, and authorized a $25 billion buyback (up to ~14.1% of shares).

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $169.93 and last traded at $167.7960, with a volume of 1272871 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Salesforce from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Salesforce from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.21.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $191.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.44.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's payout ratio is 21.25%.

Salesforce declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,271.30. This trade represents a 34.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $285,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,784,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $139,000. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 72,134 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $19,109,000 after purchasing an additional 4,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 2,400 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

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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