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

Key Points

• Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce Inc., sold 2,250 shares on August 4th for approximately $567,945, reducing his ownership by 0.02% to about $3 billion in total shares.
• Salesforce's stock has recently declined by 2.1%, trading at around $247.14, well below its one-year high of $369.00 and with a market capitalization of $236.27 billion.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.416 per share recently, indicating an annual yield of 0.7%, while maintaining a dividend payout ratio of 25.98%.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.42, for a total transaction of $567,945.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,006,718,751.82. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Friday, August 1st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.94, for a total transaction of $566,865.00.
• On Wednesday, July 30th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.77, for a total value of $597,982.50.
• On Monday, July 28th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.11, for a total value of $605,497.50.
• On Friday, July 25th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total value of $606,105.00.
• On Wednesday, July 23rd, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 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 transaction of $584,257.50.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE CRM traded down $5.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $247.14. 6,756,018 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,081,787. 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 one year low of $230.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $265.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.14. The company has a market capitalization of $236.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Northland Securities cut their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% in the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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