Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 1.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Salesforce beat quarterly expectations, reporting $3.81 EPS vs. $3.05 expected and $11.20B revenue (up 12.1% YoY), while setting FY‑2027 EPS guidance of 13.110–13.190 and Q1‑2027 guidance of 3.110–3.130.
• The board authorized a $25.0 billion stock buyback (up to ~14.1% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.44 (1.0% yield); two directors also purchased shares at roughly $194.6 each, signaling insider confidence.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets recently, but MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $279.18, implying significant upside from the current share price.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $184.29 and last traded at $180.1660. Approximately 11,776,623 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 13,159,993 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.18.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $187.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $147.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 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 the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.78 EPS. The business's 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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