Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 2.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 2.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $325.00 to $305.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $235.59 and last traded at $236.8630. Approximately 5,184,847 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 7,705,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.66.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.51.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.91, for a total value of $548,797.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,905,351,282.61. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 65,372 shares of company stock worth $16,169,071. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% during the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $246.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $257.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.49 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 presently 24.13%.

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.