Citigroup Cuts Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $197.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price decreased by Citigroup from $257.00 to $197.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Northland Securities lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $264.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, January 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $330.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.89.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $185.10 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $230.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.13. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $180.24 and a 1 year high of $318.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.27 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 17.91%.Salesforce’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 4,282 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Cambient Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $508,000. Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Hamilton Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $241,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,659,329 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $439,573,000 after acquiring an additional 316,446 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho keeps an Outperform rating on CRM, signaling continued analyst conviction that Salesforce can outperform peers as AI adoption supports growth. Mizuho Maintains an Outperform Rating on Salesforce (CRM)
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha upgrade frames the upcoming Q4 print as an opportunity to “silence the bears,” highlighting potential revenue acceleration, expanding backlog and clearer AI-driven sales/expense dynamics that could re-rate the stock if delivered. Salesforce: Q4 Earnings Is An Opportunity To Silence The Bears (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Sector evidence: beaten-down software names (RingCentral, Five9) rallied after earnings that showed AI strengthening bookings — a sign that positive AI proofs could lift Salesforce if its own AI products (Agentforce, generative solutions) show similar commercial traction. Beaten-down software stocks RingCentral and Five9 rally as earnings quell some AI concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks previews the Q4 print and urges focus beyond headline EPS/revenue — metrics like backlog, billings mix and AI subscription uptake will matter, making the upcoming report a data-driven catalyst rather than a simple beat/miss story. Salesforce (CRM) Q4 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets note elevated investor attention and mixed analyst views — increased coverage raises volatility around the earnings print but doesn’t resolve direction until results and guidance arrive. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: BMO cut its price target from $275 to $235 (still “Outperform”), which reduces upside expectations and signals more cautious near-term valuation assumptions. salesforce.com (CRM) PT Lowered to $235 at BMO Capital
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG trimmed its price target to $260, and RBC moved to a Hold — more downward pressure from sell-side revisions that can sap momentum ahead of the quarter. BTIG Research Lowers Salesforce Price Target to $260 Salesforce (CRM) Receives a Hold from RBC Capital
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put-option buying was recorded (roughly 132k puts), indicating elevated hedging or bearish spec positions that increase downside risk and implied volatility into earnings. (reported trading flow)

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.