Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.9% on Insider Selling

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares were down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $257.82 and last traded at $259.39. 10,332,259 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 14,082,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $264.43.

Specifically, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 5,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. Weiss Ratings upgraded Salesforce from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. HC Wainwright cut shares of Salesforce to a “negative” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.50.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI growth is becoming material: Agentforce and Data 360 annual recurring revenue reached nearly $3.9 billion, up more than 210% year over year. Agentforce ARR exceeded $1.5 billion and grew more than 240%, supporting the view that Salesforce is successfully monetizing artificial intelligence. Salesforce Grew Agentforce and Data 360 ARR More Than 200%
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Salesforce price target to $300, while BTIG reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and said it is increasingly confident in improving business trends. Cantor Fitzgerald Raises Salesforce Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns: Salesforce declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.44 per share, payable October 8 to shareholders of record September 17. The dividend provides a modest income component and signals continued confidence in cash generation. Salesforce Announces Quarterly Dividend

Salesforce Stock Down 1.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $213.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%.The company had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 285.7% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.