Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff Sells 15,000 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total transaction of $4,530,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,936,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,907,110,216.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Friday, April 5th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.14, for a total transaction of $4,502,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00.
• 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 transaction of $4,525,800.00.
• On Wednesday, March 27th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $4,521,750.00.
• On Monday, March 25th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.86, for a total transaction of $4,587,900.00.
• On Thursday, March 21st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $304.97, for a total transaction of $4,574,550.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $302.37 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.79. The company has a market cap of $293.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.31 and a 12-month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Finally, Starboard Value LP acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $401,215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Wolfe Research raised shares of Salesforce from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.97.

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.