Key Points
- Salesforce director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares at an average price of $260.61, generating approximately $1.17 million; his remaining holdings fell by 45.29% to 5,437 shares.
- Salesforce reported quarterly revenue of $11.35 billion and adjusted EPS of $5.90, substantially exceeding analysts’ expectations, while revenue increased 10.8% year over year.
- The company declared a $0.44-per-share quarterly dividend, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $266.50.
Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,416,936.57. This represents a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
Salesforce Stock Down 1.9%
Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $259.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $213.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.32 and a twelve month high of $269.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.00.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.04%.
Key Stories Impacting Salesforce
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: AI growth is becoming material: Agentforce and Data 360 annual recurring revenue reached nearly $3.9 billion, up more than 210% year over year. Agentforce ARR exceeded $1.5 billion and grew more than 240%, supporting the view that Salesforce is successfully monetizing artificial intelligence. Salesforce Grew Agentforce and Data 360 ARR More Than 200%
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Salesforce price target to $300, while BTIG reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and said it is increasingly confident in improving business trends. Cantor Fitzgerald Raises Salesforce Price Target
- Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns: Salesforce declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.44 per share, payable October 8 to shareholders of record September 17. The dividend provides a modest income component and signals continued confidence in cash generation. Salesforce Announces Quarterly Dividend
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Salesforce by 13,260.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 188,085,056 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,465,405,000 after acquiring an additional 186,677,290 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,396,844,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24,056.7% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 47,385,511 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $12,552,896,000 after purchasing an additional 47,189,352 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth approximately $1,914,086,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,182,951,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
CRM has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Bank of America started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $266.50.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CRM
About Salesforce
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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