DA Davidson Weighs in on Salesforce’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson issued their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Salesforce in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson analyst G. Luria anticipates that the CRM provider will post earnings per share of $1.86 for the quarter. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Salesforce’s current full-year earnings is $7.46 per share.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Macquarie lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $297.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $329.11 and a 200 day moving average of $307.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $190,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $392,649,000. Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $2,921,000. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,449,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.