Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Lowered to Hold Rating by Citigroup

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) was downgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CRM. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.65.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5%

CRM traded down $1.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $259.29. 10,706,423 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,835,383. The firm has a market cap of $242.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.25. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $221.96 and a 12-month high of $367.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $243.26 and a 200 day moving average of $252.43.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 14.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total value of $31,605,171.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 139,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,803,314.90. The trade was a 49.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.32, for a total value of $542,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,874,500,313.72. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,034 shares of company stock worth $43,297,979. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Salesforce by 159.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,106,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,636,161 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,826,049,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 27,361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $933,737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,700 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $484,852,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1,729.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,973,141 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $538,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.