Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 1.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 1.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $245.18 and last traded at $243.8620. Approximately 5,392,578 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 7,715,986 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.23.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $232.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.56.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,085,096,889. This trade represents a 0.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 67,622 shares of company stock valued at $16,714,561 over the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% during the second quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is 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.