What is KeyCorp's Forecast for Salesforce Q2 Earnings?

Key Points

• KeyCorp expects Salesforce to report Q2 2027 EPS of $2.31 and maintains an Overweight rating with a $290 price target. The firm also projected FY2027 EPS of $10.07.
• Salesforce recently reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $3.88 versus the $3.13 consensus and revenue of $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year over year.
• Despite the upbeat earnings, several analysts have trimmed their price targets, and MarketBeat says the stock now has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $257.97.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) - Analysts at KeyCorp issued their Q2 2027 earnings estimates for Salesforce in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, May 27th. KeyCorp analyst J. Ader expects that the CRM provider will post earnings per share of $2.31 for the quarter. KeyCorp has a "Overweight" rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Salesforce's current full-year earnings is $9.89 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Salesforce's Q4 2027 earnings at $2.57 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.07 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CRM. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.97.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $189.05 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $181.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $163.52 and a 1 year high of $276.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 47,189,352 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $3,182,951,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 159.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,106,255,000 after buying an additional 10,636,161 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 130.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,659,217 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,363,096,000 after buying an additional 7,160,302 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 924.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,883,610 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,028,807,000 after buying an additional 3,504,605 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Alber bought 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.