Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $194.45 and last traded at $195.3420. Approximately 11,054,796 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 12,809,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $198.34.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company commenced the largest-ever accelerated share repurchase (~103M shares) as part of a previously announced $50B program — immediate delivered liquidity and share reduction that typically supports EPS and share price. Business Wire: ASR
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $25B open-market buyback (up to ~14.1% of shares) — signals management views shares as undervalued and adds a structural buyer for the stock. RTT News: Buyback Authorization
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Truist reiterated a Buy and $280 price target, praising Salesforce’s capital-allocation strategy (note: article also mentions reports of a debt raise). InsiderMonkey: Truist Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and strategy analyses highlight Salesforce “doubling down” on AI and growth while acknowledging macro/geo risks — useful context but mixed near-term impact. Seeking Alpha: Doubling Down
• Neutral Sentiment: J.P. Morgan notes option strategies and scenarios tied to geopolitical uncertainty — shows institutional trading interest but not a clear directional bet. Seeking Alpha: J.P. Morgan Options
• Neutral Sentiment: Notable investors (e.g., Bill Nygren/Oakmark) added CRM — a positive endorsement but not an immediate catalyst. 247WallSt: Nygren Buys
• Negative Sentiment: Reports Salesforce plans to raise up to $25B of debt to help fund capital moves — while leverage is moderate on current metrics, a large debt issuance can spook some investors, especially near-term, and may have contributed to selling pressure. InsiderMonkey: Debt Raise Report

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Macquarie Infrastructure boosted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Arete Research raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.21.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $180.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $209.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.25%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total value of $929,259.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,271.30. This trade represents a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 1,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $258.64 per share, with a total value of $500,727.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,677 shares in the company, valued at $2,761,499.28. The trade was a 22.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in Salesforce by 1,145.6% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 12,017 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 98.3% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,085,000 after purchasing an additional 10,633 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $44,336,000 after buying an additional 4,233 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $113,420,000 after buying an additional 61,270 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $66,610,000 after buying an additional 83,403 shares in the last quarter. 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.