Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Citigroup

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) was downgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.65.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $1.28 on Friday, reaching $259.29. The company had a trading volume of 10,706,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,835,383. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $221.96 and a 52-week high of $367.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.43.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 17.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 96,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $260.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,015,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,994,509 shares in the company, valued at $780,309,155.22. This represents a 3.31% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total transaction of $31,605,171.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 139,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,803,314.90. The trade was a 49.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 182,034 shares of company stock valued at $43,297,979. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Painted Porch Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 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.