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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total transaction of $4,170,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,913,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,590,789,261.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 transaction 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 transaction of $4,491,300.00.
• On Monday, April 8th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00.
• On Monday, April 1st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.72, for a total transaction of $4,525,800.00.
• On Wednesday, March 27th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $4,521,750.00.
• On Monday, March 25th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.86, for a total transaction of $4,587,900.00.
• On Thursday, March 21st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.64, for a total transaction of $4,644,600.00.
• On Tuesday, March 19th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.59, for a total transaction of $4,493,850.00.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1 %

Salesforce stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $277.08. 2,970,071 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,688,547. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $298.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.79. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.57 and a 52-week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.40 per share. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.87.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.