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 that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total value of $4,152,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,857,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,293,833.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• 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.
• 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 value 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 value 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 value of $4,502,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total value of $4,581,300.00.
• On Monday, April 1st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.72, for a total value of $4,525,800.00.
• On Wednesday, March 27th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $4,521,750.00.
• On Monday, March 25th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.86, for a total value of $4,587,900.00.
• On Thursday, March 21st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.64, for a total value of $4,644,600.00.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $270.45 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.57 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $262.34 billion, a PE ratio of 64.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $297.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Wedbush increased their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.87.

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.