Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.1% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $242.16 and last traded at $243.27. 10,728,210 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 7,779,364 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.00.
Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.37, for a total transaction of $536,332.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,839,361,179.27. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.60, for a total transaction of $548,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,901,658,695.60. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.91, for a total transaction of $553,297.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,929,174,424.61. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Twenty-five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $325.23.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Salesforce
Salesforce Stock Performance
The firm has a market cap of $231.59 billion, a PE ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were paid 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, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.13%.
Institutional Trading of Salesforce
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Painted Porch Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% in the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.
Salesforce Company Profile
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Get Free Report)
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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