Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 2.5% After Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was down 2.5% on Friday after DA Davidson lowered their price target on the stock from $235.00 to $200.00. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $189.92 and last traded at $194.47. Approximately 16,209,539 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 28% from the average daily volume of 12,622,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.47.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $257.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.06.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total value of $929,259.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,271.30. This represents a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 1,936 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $258.64 per share, for a total transaction of $500,727.04. Following the purchase, the director directly 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on profitability and AI traction — Non‑GAAP EPS came in at $3.81 (well above consensus) and management highlighted Agentforce/AI monetization as a growth driver, supporting the view that AI is adding commercial value. Revenue In Line With Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Big capital‑return program — Salesforce raised its dividend and authorized a $50B buyback, signaling management confidence and improving EPS leverage if executed. That buyback is a clear near‑term support for the share price. AI Bet & Buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Long‑term targets updated — Management lifted multiyear ambitions (targeting roughly $63B revenue by FY2030) and kept FY27 EPS guidance in a tight range; this supports the long‑term bull case but leaves near‑term pacing ambiguous. FY30 Target & Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term guidance and metrics disappointed some — cRPO and other cloud momentum measures were only in‑line, and commentary implied a mid‑year slowdown before AI‑driven reacceleration, which hurt investor confidence. Jefferies on Near‑Term Slowdown
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst cuts and mixed ratings — Several banks trimmed price targets (examples: Sanford Bernstein, TD Cowen, RBC, BMO, Barclays, DA Davidson) or issued neutral/underperform stances, increasing short‑term selling pressure as models were reset. Analyst Revisions
• Negative Sentiment: Investor skepticism over AI impact persists — Coverage highlights that some investors still worry AI could compress SaaS economics despite management’s assurances, creating continued volatility in CRM shares. 3 Reasons Earnings Failed to Impress

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $223.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.28% and a net margin of 17.96%.The business’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 21.25%.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.