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

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total value of $4,275,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,482,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,557,463,195. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, May 20th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total value of $4,303,500.00.
• On Friday, May 17th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.20, for a total value of $4,293,000.00.
• On Wednesday, May 15th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.73, for a total value of $4,270,950.00.
• On Monday, May 13th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.84, for a total value of $4,152,600.00.
• On Friday, May 10th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.59, for a total value of $4,148,850.00.
• On Wednesday, May 8th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.63, for a total value of $4,179,450.00.
• On Monday, May 6th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total value of $4,131,750.00.
• 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.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $272.29 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.17. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $263.58 billion, a PE ratio of 64.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results 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 for 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 for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,268,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 47.5% during the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $506,875,000 after buying an additional 804,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.8% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 821,761 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $166,637,000 after buying an additional 6,888 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.94.

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.