Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 2.1% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Earnings beat: Salesforce reported Q (Feb) EPS of $3.81 versus $3.05 expected and revenue of $11.20B (up 12.1% year-over-year), and set FY27 EPS guidance of 13.110–13.190 and Q1 2027 guidance of 3.110–3.130.
• $25 billion buyback and dividend hike: The board authorized a $25.0 billion share repurchase (about 14.1% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.44 ($1.76 annualized, ~1.0% yield), ex-dividend April 9.
• Market and analyst view: Shares traded up ~2.1% to $181.37 on Thursday with lighter volume; analysts rate the stock a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $279.18 and individual targets ranging roughly $197–$400.

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) traded up 2.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $184.55 and last traded at $181.3730. 11,699,857 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 12,998,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial set a $280.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.18.

Salesforce Price Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $188.22 and its 200-day moving average is $224.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $167.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.78 earnings per share. The firm'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, research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 22.54%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,843,166 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $23,800,353,000 after purchasing an additional 270,913 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 50,080,230 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $13,286,909,000 after purchasing an additional 659,573 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in Salesforce by 24,056.7% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 47,385,511 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $12,552,896,000 after purchasing an additional 47,189,352 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Salesforce by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,721,010 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,019,199,000 after purchasing an additional 2,669,891 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,782,556 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,751,073,000 after purchasing an additional 791,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

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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