Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 5.3% – Should You Sell?

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) fell 5.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $234.48 and last traded at $239.27. 10,975,922 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 7,777,083 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.23.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.26. The stock has a market cap of $227.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The firm 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 firm 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.00, for a total transaction of $31,598.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,085,096,889. This represents a 0.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,622 shares of company stock worth $18,858,631. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,826,049,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,039,196,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 27,361.5% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $933,737,000 after acquiring an additional 3,411,700 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1,729.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,973,141 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $538,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865,297 shares during the period. Finally, Longview Partners Guernsey LTD acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $467,944,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.