Marc Benioff Sells 2,250 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total transaction of $611,302.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,222,910,942.33. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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 transaction of $609,345.00.
• On Thursday, July 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.91, for a total transaction of $614,047.50.
• On Tuesday, July 1st, Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total transaction of $613,080.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $258.23 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $246.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $823,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its position in Salesforce by 117.2% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,981 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $5,249,000. Elwood Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $1,337,000. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 13.5% in the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.16.

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.