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

Key Points

• Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, sold a total of 2,250 shares on August 22 at an average price of $247.67, amounting to $557,257.50, reducing his ownership to 11,911,571 shares.
• Salesforce reported a 77% year-over-year increase in revenue, totaling $9.83 billion for the last quarter, beating analyst expectations.
• Analysts have varying target prices for Salesforce, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.89.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.67, for a total value of $557,257.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,950,138,789.57. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, August 20th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.07, for a total value of $553,657.50.
• On Monday, August 18th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.44, for a total value of $545,490.00.
• On Friday, August 15th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.49, for a total value of $543,352.50.
• On Wednesday, August 13th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total transaction of $527,940.00.
• On Monday, August 11th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.45, for a total transaction of $532,012.50.
• On Friday, August 8th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.34, for a total transaction of $540,765.00.
• On Wednesday, August 6th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total transaction of $558,900.00.
• On Monday, August 4th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.42, for a total transaction of $567,945.00.
• On Friday, August 1st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.94, for a total value 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.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded down $0.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $247.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,756,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,223,517. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.48 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $258.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,826,049,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in Salesforce by 926.4% in 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 valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 27,361.5% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $933,737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,700 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson raised shares of Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.89.

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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