Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 3.4% – Time to Buy?

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was up 3.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $180.78 and last traded at $179.3920. Approximately 13,521,349 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 12,884,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.51.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced a $50 billion stock buyback alongside results that beat expectations, which supports the case for shareholder returns and signals management confidence. Salesforce Announces $50 Billion Stock Buyback As Results Beat Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary continues to view CRM as a relatively attractive AI/cloud name, citing its steady growth profile and lower valuation versus peers like Oracle. Salesforce vs. Oracle: Which AI-Driven Cloud Stock Is a Better Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks piece highlighted Salesforce as one of several AI-powered software laggards with short-term upside, suggesting investors may still see a rebound opportunity if AI adoption accelerates. Buy 5 AI-Powered Internet Software Laggards for Huge Short-Term Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Marc Benioff said Salesforce’s Slack AI can help identify employee concerns and surface key decisions, reinforcing the company’s AI narrative, though this is more of a product/technology update than an immediate financial catalyst. Marc Benioff uses AI to find out what employees are complaining about on Slack
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $160 price target, implying downside from current levels and fueling concern that Salesforce’s AI story may be losing momentum. Salesforce is now covered by Bank of America Corporation
• Negative Sentiment: Additional market coverage noted that BofA turned cautious on CRM in morning trading commentary, adding to the bearish analyst tone around the stock. Monday’s Morning Movers: Analysts Eye NOW, CRM & LRCX as BRK/B Updates Holdings

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.56.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.4%

The stock has a market cap of $146.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $184.17 and its 200-day moving average is $215.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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 business had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.78 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.54%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to buy up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

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.