Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 2.5% – Time to Sell?

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price was down 2.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $225.06 and last traded at $227.5920. Approximately 9,415,260 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the average daily volume of 7,714,734 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Twenty-five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.51.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $244.80 and its 200-day moving average is $256.22. The firm has a market cap of $215.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.13%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.09, for a total value of $551,452.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,919,406,936.39. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,872 shares of company stock worth $15,058,156. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Painted Porch Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% during 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 bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.