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

Key Points

• Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock on October 8th for a total of $539,527.50, reducing his holdings by 0.02% to approximately 11.9 million shares valued at over $2.85 billion.
• Salesforce has reported a 9.8% increase in revenue year-over-year, with quarterly earnings of $2.91 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations.
• The company has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.416, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 24.13%.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.79, for a total value of $539,527.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,856,275,610.09. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Monday, October 6th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.32, for a total transaction of $542,970.00.
• On Wednesday, October 1st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.38, for a total transaction of $531,855.00.
• On Monday, September 29th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.53, for a total transaction of $550,192.50.
• On Friday, September 26th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.91, for a total transaction of $546,547.50.
• On Wednesday, September 24th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.85, for a total transaction of $553,162.50.
• On Monday, September 22nd, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.19, for a total transaction of $558,427.50.
• On Thursday, September 18th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.09, for a total transaction of $551,452.50.
• On Monday, September 15th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.39, for a total transaction of $545,377.50.
• On Friday, September 12th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.91, for a total transaction of $548,797.50.
• On Wednesday, September 10th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.66, for a total transaction of $554,985.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded up $4.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $244.92. The company had a trading volume of 7,922,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,661,845. The company has a market capitalization of $233.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.19. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.48 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $245.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.53.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 24.13%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,823,481 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $24,221,275,000 after acquiring an additional 909,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,260,918 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $13,452,998,000 after purchasing an additional 776,300 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,669,224,000 after purchasing an additional 114,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $2,826,049,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% in the first 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 during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.89.

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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