Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells 15,000 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,913,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,590,789,261.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, April 17th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00.
• On Friday, April 12th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $309.64, for a total transaction of $4,644,600.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $270.45 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $190.57 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $262.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $297.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.87.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.7% in the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 18.8% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 24,037 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,104,000 after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Salesforce by 42.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 621 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $455,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 21.3% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 860,950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $182,797,000 after buying an additional 151,440 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.