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 on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.92, for a total value of $587,070.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,107,967,105.32. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Wednesday, July 16th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00.
• On Monday, July 14th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total value of $585,675.00.
• On Friday, July 11th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total value of $584,257.50.
• 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 value 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 value 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 value of $614,047.50.
• On Tuesday, July 1st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total value of $613,080.00.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $262.31 on Tuesday. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $250.77 billion, a PE ratio of 41.05, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $270.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.85.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $23,592,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,484,616,000 after acquiring an additional 600,386 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $404.00 target price (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Westpark Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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.