Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded down 1.5% on Tuesday 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 $230.27 and last traded at $233.37. 8,004,852 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 4% from the average session volume of 7,706,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.03.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.51.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 3,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.39, for a total transaction of $545,377.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,887,245,694.69. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 63,122 shares of company stock valued at $15,615,413 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 159.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,106,255,000 after purchasing an additional 10,636,161 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,826,049,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,039,196,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 27,361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $933,737,000 after buying an additional 3,411,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $484,852,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.5%

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 company has a market capitalization of $222.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $245.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $256.96.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

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.