Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Salesforce's shares decreased by 2%, closing at $240.93 after hitting a low of $239.49, with trading volume increasing to 8,099,382 shares.
• Recent analyst ratings show a wide range of price target adjustments, with Oppenheimer lowering its target from $370 to $315, while other firms updated their ratings to "overweight" or "outperform."
• Salesforce announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416, set to be paid on October 9th, contributing to an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 24.13%.

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) fell 2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $239.49 and last traded at $240.93. 8,099,382 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 7,610,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.58.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm's 50 day moving average is $250.07 and its 200 day moving average is $262.14. The company has a market capitalization of $229.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 24.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total transaction of $606,105.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,208,738,995.98. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,500 shares of company stock worth $19,402,583. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,823,481 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $24,221,275,000 after purchasing an additional 909,853 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,260,918 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $13,452,998,000 after acquiring an additional 776,300 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,669,224,000 after acquiring an additional 114,504 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,826,049,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,484,616,000 after acquiring an additional 600,386 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.

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