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 the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total transaction of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,955,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,112,033,829.80. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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

• On Friday, July 11th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.67, for a total transaction of $584,257.50.
• On Wednesday, July 9th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50.
• On Monday, July 7th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.82, for a total transaction 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 Stock Performance

CRM stock traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $257.23. 1,154,675 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,534,001. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on CRM shares. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Painted Porch Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% during the second quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.