Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 3.1% – Still a Buy?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRMGet Free Report) shares shot up 3.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $234.63 and last traded at $233.7490. 9,656,058 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 7,726,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered shares of Salesforce from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $264.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Twenty-five equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.51.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on CRM

Salesforce Trading Up 3.1%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $244.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRMGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.19, for a total value of $558,427.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,956,332,806.49. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,622 shares of company stock valued at $14,501,123. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Coign Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. KDT Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 4.1% during the first quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 0.7% in the second quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 5,850 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% in the second quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 607 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Salesforce

(Get Free Report)

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.

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