Insider Selling: Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells 2,250 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of stock at an average price of $269.38, totaling $606,105, while retaining ownership of over 11.9 million shares valued at approximately $3.21 billion.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, reporting $2.58 earnings per share and a revenue of $9.83 billion, which surpassed analyst forecasts.
• Salesforce has a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with target prices ranging from $320 to $430.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total transaction of $606,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,208,738,995.98. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, July 23rd, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.56, for a total transaction of $599,760.00.
• On Monday, July 21st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.93, for a total transaction of $591,592.50.
• On Friday, July 18th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.92, for a total transaction of $587,070.00.
• On Wednesday, July 16th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $585,675.00.
• On Friday, July 11th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50.
• On Wednesday, July 9th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50.
• On Monday, July 7th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.82, for a total transaction of $609,345.00.
• On Thursday, July 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.91, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $613,080.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4%

Salesforce stock traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $270.20. 4,527,273 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,133,361. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $268.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.68. The company has a market cap of $258.31 billion, a PE ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Painted Porch Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 260.0% during the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.

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