Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $169.35 and last traded at $167.7560. Approximately 9,671,806 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 12,865,661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.84.
More Salesforce News
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce won a $72 million U.S. Air Force agreement that is part of a broader $5.6 billion Department of Defense contract, expanding its Agentforce AI platform into secure government operations and reinforcing its push into high-value regulated markets. Salesforce’s Air Force Deal Tests Agentforce’s Role In Secure Government AI
- Positive Sentiment: BoldSign launched a Salesforce integration on AgentExchange, adding another workflow tool to the ecosystem and supporting the company’s broader platform strategy. BoldSign Launches Salesforce Integration to Streamline Agreement Workflows
- Positive Sentiment: Some commentary continues to highlight Salesforce’s growth story and AI positioning, which can help offset concerns about near-term pressure on the stock. Salesforce Growth Story Gains Attention Across Russell 1000
- Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive overall, with brokerages still rating CRM a “Moderate Buy,” but that optimism is being balanced by recent target cuts. Salesforce Inc. NYSE: CRM Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages
- Neutral Sentiment: Citi raised its price target to $188 in one update, signaling expectations for upside, even as another report noted a target reduction ahead of earnings. Salesforce NYSE: CRM Given New $188.00 Price Target at Citigroup
- Negative Sentiment: Citi also reportedly trimmed its price target ahead of Salesforce’s Q1 results, reflecting caution around near-term execution and valuation. Salesforce price target reduced by Citi ahead of Q1 earnings
- Negative Sentiment: CRM has recently underperformed the broader market, with shares falling more than the S&P 500 in a prior session, suggesting investors remain sensitive to growth and guidance concerns. Salesforce (CRM) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note 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 given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.82.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on CRM
Salesforce Stock Performance
The firm's 50 day moving average price is $185.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.56. 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 $137.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.14.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 22.54%.
Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the transaction, the director 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Bank lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 10,198 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,781,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.
Salesforce Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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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