Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells $4,270,950.00 in Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.73, for a total transaction of $4,270,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,557,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,575,447,716.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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

• On Monday, May 13th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.84, for a total transaction of $4,152,600.00.
• On Friday, May 10th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.59, for a total transaction of $4,148,850.00.
• On Wednesday, May 8th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.63, for a total value of $4,179,450.00.
• On Monday, May 6th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total value of $4,131,750.00.
• On Friday, May 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.01, for a total value of $4,125,150.00.
• On Wednesday, May 1st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total transaction of $4,042,950.00.
• On Monday, April 29th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.79, for a total transaction of $4,121,850.00.
• On Friday, April 26th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.07, for a total value of $4,126,050.00.
• On Wednesday, April 24th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.65, for a total value of $4,149,750.00.
• On Monday, April 22nd, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.03, for a total transaction of $4,110,450.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of CRM stock traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $286.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 802,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,348,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $276.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.80, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $289.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.94.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Nine equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after buying an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 3.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.