Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells $587,070.00 in Stock

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,107,967,105.32. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, July 21st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.93, for a total value of $591,592.50.
• On Wednesday, July 16th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $267.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $255.39 billion, a PE ratio of 41.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $268.96 and a 200-day moving average of $285.09. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $23,592,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 600,386 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 price objective (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $404.00 price objective on Salesforce and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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.