Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 3.9% Higher on Strong Earnings

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded up 3.9% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $248.97 and last traded at $247.92. 19,926,160 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 156% from the average session volume of 7,784,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $238.72.

The CRM provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.39. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total value of $31,605,171.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 139,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,803,314.90. This represents a 49.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $254.66 per share, with a total value of $865,844.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $973,819.84. This represents a 801.89% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 184,284 shares of company stock worth $43,862,999. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,572,253 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $21,228,624,000 after purchasing an additional 748,772 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,420,657 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,732,966,000 after buying an additional 159,739 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,669,224,000 after buying an additional 114,504 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,051,119 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,753,519,000 after buying an additional 1,729,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 159.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,106,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,636,161 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $242.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.10.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.