Insider Selling: Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells 2,250 Shares of Stock

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.91, for a total transaction of $614,047.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,237,383,139.87. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 value of $609,345.00.
• 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 value of $613,080.00.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $3.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.77. 6,657,147 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,543,246. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $261.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.84, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.63. 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 posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in 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 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.