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

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.65, for a total transaction of $4,149,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,782,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,536,230,764.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, April 22nd, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.03, for a total value of $4,110,450.00.
• On Friday, April 19th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total transaction of $4,064,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 17th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00.
• On Monday, April 15th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total value of $4,170,900.00.
• On Friday, April 12th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total value of $4,436,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 10th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.42, for a total value of $4,491,300.00.
• On Monday, April 8th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total transaction of $4,530,450.00.
• 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 stock was 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 value of $4,525,800.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $274.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $295.97 and a 200-day moving average of $263.90. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.76 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $265.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.29, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.