Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 4.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares jumped 4.7% to $172.76 on Monday (previous close $164.96) with about 12.35 million shares traded, slightly below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Quarterly beat and outlook: Salesforce reported EPS of $3.81 versus $3.05 expected and revenue of $11.20B (vs. $11.18B est.), and set FY2027 EPS guidance of 13.110–13.190 and Q1 2027 guidance of 3.110–3.130.
• Capital returns and analyst view: The board authorized a $25 billion share buyback and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.44 (annualized $1.76, ~1.0% yield), while analysts remain broadly positive but have trimmed several price targets, with an average target near $280 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 4.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $173.40 and last traded at $172.7570. Approximately 12,350,013 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 12,995,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price 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. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.21.

Salesforce Trading Up 4.7%

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 firm has a market cap of $159.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $189.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 currently 22.54%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,742,271.30. This trade represents a 34.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hedge funds and other 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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