Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 8.4% Following Dividend Announcement

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price rose 8.4% during trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $194.14 and last traded at $190.9990. Approximately 33,691,516 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 155% from the average daily volume of 13,222,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.17.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 22.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Northland Securities lowered their price target on Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered Salesforce from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.47.

Salesforce Stock Up 8.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $156.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $180.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 18.73%.The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce delivered strong fiscal Q1 results, with revenue up 13% year over year to $11.13 billion and EPS of $3.88 topping estimates, while Agentforce ARR passed $1 billion. CRM Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y on ARR Milestone
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised FY2027 guidance and announced a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase, signaling confidence in earnings power and a strong return of capital to shareholders. Salesforce raises FY 2027 revenue guide…
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, adding another capital-return tailwind for income-focused investors. Salesforce Announces Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive, with firms like Wedbush, Piper Sandler, Cantor Fitzgerald, and others keeping bullish ratings and price targets above the current share price. Salesforce Q1 Results ‘Uninspiring’…
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce said its AI tools, especially Agentforce, are gaining traction, and it expanded a collaboration with CVS Health to use Agentforce Health in call centers. CVS Health to Deliver Faster…
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option buying suggests traders are positioning for a move higher, but it does not confirm a fundamental shift by itself.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were disappointed that Q2 revenue guidance came in slightly below expectations, reinforcing concerns that growth is not accelerating as quickly as hoped. Salesforce Stock Slips as Earnings Top Estimates but Outlook Disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts warned that Salesforce still faces an “AI threat” narrative, arguing that the company has yet to fully prove its AI strategy will offset disruption risks to its core software model. Analyst warns Salesforce has an AI problem
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple brokerages trimmed price targets after the report, reflecting caution around valuation and the softer near-term outlook. Analyst price target updates

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, 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. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 6,236 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Lavelle Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,014,000. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 58.7% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $192,000. Finally, Summitry LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 223,478 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $41,717,000 after acquiring an additional 8,815 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.