Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 2.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 2.6% intraday to about $176.45 with volume up ~10%, and the stock is trading below its 50‑day ($186.84) and 200‑day ($220.75) moving averages.
• Several major banks cut price targets (e.g., Barclays, JPMorgan, Oppenheimer, Jefferies) but the consensus remains a “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $279.18.
• Fundamentals remain solid: Salesforce beat EPS ($3.81 vs. $3.05 est.) and revenue ($11.20B, +12.1% YoY), 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) shares dropped 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $173.00 and last traded at $176.4480. Approximately 14,309,914 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 13,043,044 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $281.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.18.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.75. 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 company has a market cap of $144.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.29.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.54%.

Salesforce declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Aspire Growth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 871 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mathes Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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