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

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.07, for a total value of $4,126,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,752,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,782,587.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, April 24th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.65, for a total value of $4,149,750.00.
• 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 transaction 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 shares were 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $275.86 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.76 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $295.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.20. The firm has a market cap of $267.58 billion, a PE ratio of 65.68, a PEG ratio of 2.11 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 (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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

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.