Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells $578,295.00 in Stock

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $578,295.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,061,511,978.42. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, July 14th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was 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 value 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 value 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total transaction of $613,080.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $259.66. 5,832,471 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,555,388. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $271.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.52. Salesforce Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

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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