Marc Benioff Sells 15,000 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.07, for a total transaction of $4,126,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,752,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,507,782,587.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• 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 transaction of $4,149,750.00.
• On Monday, April 22nd, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.03, for a total transaction of $4,110,450.00.
• On Friday, April 19th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total transaction of $4,064,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 17th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00.
• On Monday, April 15th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total transaction of $4,170,900.00.
• On Friday, April 12th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total transaction of $4,436,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 10th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.42, for a total transaction of $4,491,300.00.
• On Monday, April 8th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total transaction of $4,530,450.00.
• On Friday, April 5th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.14, for a total value of $4,502,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total value of $4,581,300.00.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $275.86. 3,608,431 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,637,167. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $295.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.27, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. 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 one year low of $190.76 and a one year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, April 12th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.61.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $9,268,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 47.5% during the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $506,875,000 after purchasing an additional 804,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 153.2% during the third quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 2,575 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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