Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 2.5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Salesforce shares fell 2.5% on Friday, trading as low as $176.88 and ending at $181.67, below the prior close of $186.34. Trading volume was also slightly below average.
• The company is leaning harder into AI-driven growth, with launches like Agentforce Operations and Agentforce Sales in ChatGPT aimed at boosting automation and expanding enterprise adoption.
• Despite the stock pullback, Salesforce recently beat earnings expectations, raised its dividend, and authorized a $25 billion share repurchase, while analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy rating.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $176.88 and last traded at $181.67. Approximately 12,339,049 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 12,919,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.34.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce launched Agentforce Operations, a new tool designed to automate complex enterprise workflows, and rising adoption of its Agentforce AI platform is helping reinforce the company’s AI growth story. Salesforce AI Shift Agentforce Operations Links Product Adoption To Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is also bringing Agentforce Sales to ChatGPT, which could expand the reach of its AI-driven CRM tools and support adoption with enterprise customers.
• Positive Sentiment: A new revenue reporting structure beginning in FY27 is intended to align disclosures more closely with Salesforce’s AI-led strategy, potentially making it easier for investors to track how AI products are contributing to growth. Salesforce Inc’s (CRM) New Reporting Structure To Give Better Insights Into AI Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party coverage continues to frame CRM as an AI and big-data beneficiary, with analysts highlighting Salesforce as a play on surging analytics demand and enterprise AI adoption. Top Big Data Stocks Powering the AI Boom as Analytics Demand Surges
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compare Salesforce with HubSpot and discuss its competitive position in CRM, but these pieces are more strategic than immediately market-moving.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage also raises a leadership succession question around Marc Benioff, which could create some overhang if investors become more focused on long-term governance and continuity risk. Beyond Benioff: Is Salesforce Ready for Life Without Its Founder?
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce has also been reported as falling in recent trading, suggesting investors may still be cautious despite the company’s AI initiatives.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Northland Securities decreased their target price on Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Salesforce from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $280.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report 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 issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $279.18.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $186.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.91.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.78 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.54%.

Salesforce announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth $934,000. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $33,636,000. Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 92,577 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $17,281,000 after purchasing an additional 45,978 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 440.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 380,625 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $71,051,000 after purchasing an additional 310,193 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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