Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 2.5% After Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded down 2.5% on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $276.00 to $253.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $226.00 and last traded at $228.2660. 7,925,360 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 7,729,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.12.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CRM. UBS Group cut their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.00, for a total transaction of $31,598.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,085,096,889. This represents a 0.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,372 shares of company stock worth $13,941,863. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 260.0% in the second quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.5%

The firm has a market cap of $217.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $244.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 24.13%.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.