Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 1.5% Higher – Here’s Why

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares rose 1.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $200.67 and last traded at $199.30. Approximately 22,973,591 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 117% from the average daily volume of 10,589,778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.38.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large government contract — reports that Salesforce won a roughly $5.6 billion U.S. Army cloud deal boost revenue visibility and strategic credibility in the public-sector/defense cloud market. Salesforce (CRM) Wins $5.6 Billion Army Deal
• Positive Sentiment: AI adoption story remains intact — analysts and commentators highlight accelerating AI integration across Salesforce’s platform; view is that revenue recognition may lag adoption but long-term addressable market is expanding. Salesforce: AI Adoption Is Surging
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/analyst rebound thesis — some technicians and analysts call CRM oversold after recent declines and point to consensus earnings-upgrade momentum that could spark a short-term reversal. After Plunging 17.7% in 4 Weeks, Here’s Why the Trend Might Reverse
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support noted — high-profile commentators (Jim Cramer) point to long-term holdings by charitable trusts, signaling stable, patient ownership that can cushion volatility. Jim Cramer highlights charitable trust ownership
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings timing set — Salesforce will release Q4 and full‑year fiscal 2026 results after the close on Feb. 25 and host a conference call, a likely volatility event that investors are positioning around. Salesforce Announces Timing of its Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst roundup & valuation debate — multi‑analyst pieces and valuation screens flag a perceived discount for CRM but show mixed verdicts among 25 experts; this keeps sentiment divided. The Analyst Verdict: Salesforce In The Eyes Of 25 Experts
• Negative Sentiment: Price risk and negative headlines — coverage highlighting a 52‑week low and a 42% fall over the past year fuels concern that CRM could be a “value trap” if growth or margins disappoint. Is CRM Stock A Value Play Or A Value Trap?
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing downside speculation — additional op-eds question how low the stock can go, keeping downside narratives alive and contributing to selling pressure. How Low Can Salesforce Stock Go?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Northland Securities upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $264.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.57.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.57. The company has a market capitalization of $186.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 22.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 7,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,271.30. The trade was 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total value of $31,605,171.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 139,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,803,314.90. This trade represents a 49.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 159.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,106,255,000 after purchasing an additional 10,636,161 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,826,049,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 27,361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $933,737,000 after buying an additional 3,411,700 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $484,852,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1,729.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,973,141 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $538,020,000 after buying an additional 1,865,297 shares during the last quarter. 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.