Marc Benioff Sells 2,250 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,104,501,823.22. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total transaction of $613,080.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $259.45. 6,529,578 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,259,348. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $272.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $248.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after buying an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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