Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff Sells 2,250 Shares

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.94, for a total transaction of $566,865.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,001,001,197.74. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Marc Benioff also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 30th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.77, for a total transaction of $597,982.50.
• On Monday, July 28th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.11, for a total transaction of $605,497.50.
• On Friday, July 25th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total transaction of $606,105.00.
• On Wednesday, July 23rd, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.56, for a total transaction of $599,760.00.
• On Monday, July 21st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.93, for a total transaction of $591,592.50.
• On Friday, July 18th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.92, for a total transaction of $587,070.00.
• On Wednesday, July 16th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $578,295.00.
• On Monday, July 14th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total transaction of $585,675.00.
• On Friday, July 11th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50.
• On Wednesday, July 9th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $252.21 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $265.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.11 billion, a PE ratio of 39.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% in the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.16.

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.