Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) dropped 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $214.67 and last traded at $221.9430. Approximately 6,593,476 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 13,175,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.18.
Salesforce News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Salesforce agreed to acquire AI startup Cresta, a deal reported at about $2.7 billion. The purchase could add AI capabilities for customer service and support Salesforce’s effort to broaden its AI products. Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Cresta
- Positive Sentiment: A Zacks analysis says Salesforce’s improving revenue outlook, AI adoption and valuation support a bullish case, despite a recent six-month rally. Another comparison highlights the company’s steadier revenue expansion, which may appeal to investors seeking more predictable growth. Salesforce Climbs 22% in Six Months: Is the Stock Still Worth Buying? Salesforce vs. IBM: Comparing Consistent Revenue Expansion Against Slow Sales Growth
- Negative Sentiment: Cresta is Salesforce’s fifth major acquisition this year, intensifying questions about whether the company can integrate multiple deals effectively. The $2.7 billion commitment may also sharpen investor scrutiny of acquisition spending while the stock is weak. The Selloff Didn’t Stop Salesforce From Spending $2.7 Billion on an AI Startup
- Negative Sentiment: Salesforce filed to offer 609,118 shares, valued at roughly $139.6 million, for an employee stock ownership plan. The offering adds a modest dilution concern for shareholders. Salesforce (CRM) Files Share Offering, Is The Pullback A Valuation Opportunity?
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Salesforce from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, October 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.98.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Salesforce
Salesforce Price Performance
The stock has a 50 day moving average of $239.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $182.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.26.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 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 analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 16.04%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce
In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 4,176 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 18,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,486,958.84. This represents a 28.66% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,416,936.57. The trade was a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $11,396,844,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Salesforce by 130.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,659,217 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,363,096,000 after purchasing an additional 7,160,302 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Salesforce by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,724,790 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,188,666,000 after purchasing an additional 2,561,923 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $927,332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $844,928,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Salesforce Company Profile
Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.
The company’s products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.
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