Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells $545,490.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock for a total of $545,490 on August 18, reducing his ownership by 0.02% but still holding approximately $2.89 billion worth of shares.
• Salesforce's stock price increased by 0.7% to $245.61, while the company has a market capitalization of $234.80 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.7%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 25.98%.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.44, for a total transaction of $545,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,887,841,273.24. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Friday, August 15th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.49, for a total transaction of $543,352.50.
• On Wednesday, August 13th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total transaction of $527,940.00.
• On Monday, August 11th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.45, for a total transaction of $532,012.50.
• On Friday, August 8th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.34, for a total transaction of $540,765.00.
• On Wednesday, August 6th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total transaction of $558,900.00.
• On Monday, August 4th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.42, for a total transaction of $567,945.00.
• On Friday, August 1st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.94, for a total transaction of $566,865.00.
• On Wednesday, July 30th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.77, for a total transaction of $597,982.50.
• On Monday, July 28th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.11, for a total transaction of $605,497.50.
• On Friday, July 25th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total transaction of $606,105.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of CRM stock traded up $1.6370 on Tuesday, hitting $245.6070. The stock had a trading volume of 8,635,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,246,621. The business has a 50 day moving average of $259.85 and a 200 day moving average of $274.14. The stock has a market cap of $234.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.48 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $361,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $384,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.89.

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.

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