Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 1.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $244.53 and last traded at $243.58. Approximately 4,967,581 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 7,596,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.58.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $231.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $249.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.53.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. The business 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be 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 is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 24.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total transaction of $606,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,208,738,995.98. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,750 shares of company stock valued at $19,955,745. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 260.0% in the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.