Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 1.2% – Here’s Why

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $169.35 and last traded at $167.7560. 9,671,806 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 12,865,661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.84.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce won a $72 million U.S. Air Force agreement that is part of a broader $5.6 billion Department of Defense contract, expanding its Agentforce AI platform into secure government operations and reinforcing its push into high-value regulated markets. Salesforce’s Air Force Deal Tests Agentforce’s Role In Secure Government AI
• Positive Sentiment: BoldSign launched a Salesforce integration on AgentExchange, adding another workflow tool to the ecosystem and supporting the company’s broader platform strategy. BoldSign Launches Salesforce Integration to Streamline Agreement Workflows
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary continues to highlight Salesforce’s growth story and AI positioning, which can help offset concerns about near-term pressure on the stock. Salesforce Growth Story Gains Attention Across Russell 1000
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive overall, with brokerages still rating CRM a “Moderate Buy,” but that optimism is being balanced by recent target cuts. Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi raised its price target to $188 in one update, signaling expectations for upside, even as another report noted a target reduction ahead of earnings. Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $188.00 Price Target at Citigroup
• Negative Sentiment: Citi also reportedly trimmed its price target ahead of Salesforce’s Q1 results, reflecting caution around near-term execution and valuation. Salesforce price target reduced by Citi ahead of Q1 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: CRM has recently underperformed the broader market, with shares falling more than the S&P 500 in a prior session, suggesting investors remain sensitive to growth and guidance concerns. Salesforce (CRM) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $281.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.82.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $137.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.56. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $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.