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 Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total value of $4,131,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,662,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,487,837,972.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Friday, May 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.01, for a total value of $4,125,150.00.
• On Wednesday, May 1st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total value of $4,042,950.00.
• On Monday, April 29th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.79, for a total value of $4,121,850.00.
• On Friday, April 26th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.07, for a total value of $4,126,050.00.
• On Wednesday, April 24th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was 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 value of $4,110,450.00.
• On Friday, April 19th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total value 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 value 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.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $277.21 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $268.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $293.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.99.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $564,188,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 110.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,394,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $893,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,421 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.