Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 2.3% – What’s Next?

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares were down 2.3% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $222.89 and last traded at $224.5220. Approximately 7,278,009 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 13,818,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.79.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Agentforce adoption is broad. Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating and a $275 price target after a Dreamforce survey found that 85% of Salesforce customers had tried Agentforce. The firm said spending remains healthy, though demand has not yet accelerated meaningfully. 85% of Salesforce Customers Have Tried Agentforce. Oppenheimer Says One Thing Is Missing
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cash flow and valuation could attract investors. Salesforce generated free cash flow equal to 8.2% of its market value over the past year, well above the S&P 500 median of 4.5%. Analysts also view the stock’s depressed forward valuation, high margins and recurring revenue as potential catalysts for a re-rating. Should You Buy Salesforce Stock for Its Cash?
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional sentiment may be improving. A market commentary cited improving money flow and relative strength for Salesforce as investors reassess whether AI is a threat to established software platforms. Its customer switching costs and Agentforce offering could support renewals and larger deals if AI monetization appears in future results. Wall Street Left Software for Dead: 4 Stocks Institutions Are Buying Back
• Neutral Sentiment: Commerce ecosystem expansion. Salesforce named fraud-prevention company Forter a launch partner for Storefront Next and expanded Forter’s tools into Loyalty Management, potentially strengthening Salesforce’s commerce-security offering. Salesforce Names a Launch Partner for Storefront Next
• Negative Sentiment: Migration concerns highlight competitive risk. Work4Flow launched a 90-day program to move enterprises from Salesforce to ServiceNow CRM, using AI to rebuild workflows and migrate data. While only one provider’s offering, it reinforces concerns that large customers could consider alternatives. Work4Flow Launches 90-Day Program to Accelerate Salesforce-to-ServiceNow CRM Migration
• Negative Sentiment: Leverage and uncertain growth remain overhangs. Salesforce’s high debt relative to equity and slowing demand momentum offset its attractive cash flow and valuation. Investors are likely waiting for evidence that Agentforce is driving measurable revenue growth rather than simply increasing customer experimentation.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $289.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 18th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.14.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $224.73 and its 200 day moving average is $192.44. The stock has a market cap of $186.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.26.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.91 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 16.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 4,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. The trade was a 28.66% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,416,936.57. This represents a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 410.3% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $610,974,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) develops cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software and enterprise applications. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, analytics, data integration and collaboration through subscription-based services.

The company’s product portfolio includes Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Salesforce Platform, Data Cloud and Tableau. Salesforce also offers MuleSoft integration technology, Slack collaboration software and artificial intelligence capabilities through its Einstein platform.