Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 1.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $244.53 and last traded at $243.58. Approximately 4,967,581 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 7,596,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.58.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.1%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $231.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during 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 firm’s 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 forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.85, for a total value of $553,162.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,928,459,730.35. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 78,750 shares of company stock worth $19,955,745. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,823,481 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,221,275,000 after purchasing an additional 909,853 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,260,918 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,452,998,000 after acquiring an additional 776,300 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,669,224,000 after purchasing an additional 114,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,826,049,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,484,616,000 after acquiring an additional 600,386 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.