Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 2.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Agentforce shows strong AI monetization momentum — reported at about $800M ARR with 169% growth, suggesting AI products could drive material revenue upside for Salesforce.
• Management is boosting shareholder returns with a $25 billion buyback authorization and a raised quarterly dividend ($0.44), while insider purchases and a Google partnership plus high-profile endorsements bolster the bull case.
• Salesforce beat recent quarterly estimates (EPS $3.81 vs. $3.05; revenue $11.20B, +12.1% YoY) and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" target (~$279), but sector weakness from ServiceNow's guidance miss and AI disruption concerns have increased near-term volatility and prompted price-target cuts.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) was up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $178.45 and last traded at $178.3070. Approximately 10,777,936 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 13,177,080 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.30.

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI product momentum — Salesforce’s Agentforce is reported at $800M ARR with 169% growth, suggesting AI monetization could drive material revenue upside. Agentforce Adoption Rises: Can It Be Salesforce's Next Growth Engine?
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships and capital return boost the bull case — coverage highlights a Google partnership and Salesforce’s $25B buyback plan, both supportive of long-term growth and shareholder returns. Salesforce (CRM) Stock: Google Partnership, $25B Buyback, and What Analysts Are Saying
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsements — Jim Cramer publicly advised not to sell at these prices, which can stabilize sentiment among retail/income-focused holders. Jim Cramer on Salesforce: “I Would Not Sell It at These Prices”
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst debate and valuation narratives continue — some outlets lay out a valuation-reset thesis that raises fair-value estimates based on AI growth and low leverage; this frames a longer-term bull case but leaves near-term execution risk. Salesforce Valuation Reset: AI Growth, Low Debt, And A Much Higher Fair Value Case
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor/analyst notes under review — Montaka’s internal assessment and head-to-head comparisons with peers (Oracle, ServiceNow) are circulating; these are being parsed by investors but don’t by themselves move fundamentals. Here’s Montaka’s Internal Assessment on Salesforce (CRM)
• Negative Sentiment: Sector panic from ServiceNow weak guidance — enterprise software stocks plunged after ServiceNow’s guidance miss and cascade of price-target cuts; that sector weakness dragged CRM materially lower before today’s bounce. Cheap Salesforce Vs. Expensive ServiceNow: Which Stock Is A Better Buy Today?
• Negative Sentiment: AI disruption fears and price-target cuts — several pieces warn AI could displace CRM functionality or cut demand and Piper Sandler trimmed its target, fueling short-term downside risk and volatility. Salesforce (CRM) Stock At Significant Risk Of Collapsing Due To AI
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term selling and headlines — coverage noting the stock “tumbled” and ended a multi-day gain series highlights momentum-based selling and headline sensitivity in the current environment. Salesforce tumbles, ending six-day gains as AI fears weigh

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $281.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.18.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $145.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's fifty day moving average is $187.44 and its 200-day moving average is $222.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's payout ratio is 22.54%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Cane Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Cane Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,004,000. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 156,301 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,176,000 after buying an additional 5,177 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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