Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells $4,581,300.00 in Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total value of $4,581,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,981,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,964,707,719.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Monday, April 1st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.72, for a total value of $4,525,800.00.
• On Wednesday, March 27th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $4,521,750.00.
• On Monday, March 25th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.86, for a total value of $4,587,900.00.
• On Thursday, March 21st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.64, for a total transaction of $4,644,600.00.
• On Tuesday, March 19th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.59, for a total transaction of $4,493,850.00.
• On Friday, March 15th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.12, for a total transaction of $4,441,800.00.
• On Wednesday, March 13th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.23, for a total transaction of $4,593,450.00.
• On Monday, March 11th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.97, for a total value of $4,574,550.00.
• On Wednesday, March 6th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.25, for a total value of $4,563,750.00.
• On Friday, March 1st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $301.91 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.31 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $297.40 and its 200-day moving average is $256.15. The company has a market capitalization of $292.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 125,717.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after buying an additional 10,252,257 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Starboard Value LP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $401,215,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.97.

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.