Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 1.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $181.71 and last traded at $182.7160. Approximately 11,077,088 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 13,438,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Salesforce from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.85.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $181.31 and a 200-day moving average of $208.71. The firm has a market cap of $149.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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. Research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

Salesforce declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Positano Wealth Management Ltd lifted its stake in Salesforce by 234.5% in the first quarter. Positano Wealth Management Ltd now owns 42,146 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,867,000 after buying an additional 29,546 shares during the period. Farmers National Bank lifted its stake in Salesforce by 69.2% in the first quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 4,060 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp lifted its stake in Salesforce by 32.2% in the first quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 1,190 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 150.6% during the first quarter. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,253 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares during the period. Finally, First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $5,513,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.