Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 3.9% Following Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded down 3.9% during trading on Monday after KeyCorp lowered their price target on the stock from $400.00 to $300.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $174.57 and last traded at $177.9990. 15,464,490 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 11,775,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.16.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Monday, January 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie Infrastructure boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.56.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 1,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $258.64 per share, with a total value of $500,727.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 10,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,761,499.28. The trade was a 22.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total value of $929,259.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,271.30. This trade represents a 34.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is expanding AI capabilities (Momentum acquisition, partnerships for identity and governance) that support its Agentforce/Slackbot roadmap — a tangible product push investors see as earnings- and growth-accretive. Salesforce AI Deals Test Investor Patience As Valuation Screens Attractive
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and previews expect a strong Q4 with margin tailwinds from cost cuts and AI-driven product leverage — upbeat previews are supporting bullish positioning into the print. Salesforce Q4 earnings on deck: What to expect
• Positive Sentiment: A broader software rally tied to an Anthropic-related announcement lifted AI-linked names, giving Salesforce sector-driven relief that helped push the stock up. US software stocks climb as Anthropic announcement sparks relief rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market pricing signals a sizable move is expected around Wednesday’s after‑hours Q4 report — raises short-term volatility risk but not a directional read. Here’s How Much Salesforce Stock Is Expected to Move After Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp trimmed its price target substantially (from $400 to $300) but left an overweight stance — a mixed signal that reduces upside expectations while still reflecting conviction in the business. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms have cut price targets and flagged earnings/valuation risk ahead of Q4, underscoring downside sensitivity if revenue growth disappoints or AI investments don’t convert quickly. Big Salesforce Price Target Cuts Ahead of Q4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Persistent critique around SaaS vulnerability to “agentic AI” and reminders of prior sharp corrections keep longer-term sentiment fragile — bulls point to AI integration, bears point to execution and valuation risks. What The Bulls Are Missing About Salesforce Stock

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $227.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.19. The company has a market cap of $173.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.16%.

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.