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

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.82, for a total transaction of $609,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,212,590,604.74. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Thursday, July 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was 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 Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $3.97 on Tuesday, hitting $273.77. 6,657,147 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,543,220. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $261.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.84, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.63.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $23,592,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,942 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,484,616,000 after buying an additional 600,386 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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 boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.08.

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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