Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells $559,260.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock on August 27th for a total of $559,260.00, reducing his holdings to 11,911,571 shares.
• The company's stock price increased to $254.79 during midday trading, with a market cap of $243.58 billion and a PE ratio of 39.87.
• Salesforce recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416, yielding 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 25.98%.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.56, for a total value of $559,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,960,740,087.76. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, August 25th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.57, for a total value of $557,032.50.
• On Friday, August 22nd, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.67, for a total value of $557,257.50.
• On Wednesday, August 20th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.07, for a total value of $553,657.50.
• On Monday, August 18th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.44, for a total value of $545,490.00.
• On Friday, August 15th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.49, for a total value of $543,352.50.
• On Wednesday, August 13th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total value 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 value 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 value 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 value of $558,900.00.
• On Monday, August 4th, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.42, for a total value of $567,945.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $4.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $254.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,443,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,238,178. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $226.48 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $257.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.63. The stock has a market cap of $243.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 $0.416 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Northland Securities decreased their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson upgraded Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price target on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.54.

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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