Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff Sells 2,250 Shares

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,104,501,823.22. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Wednesday, July 9th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50.
• On Monday, July 7th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.82, for a total transaction of $609,345.00.
• On Thursday, July 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.91, for a total transaction of $614,047.50.
• On Tuesday, July 1st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total transaction of $613,080.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $259.45 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.94. Salesforce Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $248.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.16.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $320,000. Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 20.2% in the second quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 14,246 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.9% in the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 7,230 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,972,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% in the second quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gries Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.7% in the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,713 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.