Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells $4,436,100.00 in Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total transaction of $4,436,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,928,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,823,539,948.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, April 15th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total transaction of $4,170,900.00.
• On Wednesday, April 10th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.42, for a total transaction of $4,491,300.00.
• On Monday, April 8th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total transaction of $4,530,450.00.
• On Friday, April 5th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.14, for a total transaction of $4,502,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 3rd, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total transaction of $4,581,300.00.
• On Monday, April 1st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.72, for a total transaction of $4,525,800.00.
• On Wednesday, March 27th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $4,521,750.00.
• On Monday, March 25th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.86, for a total transaction of $4,587,900.00.
• On Thursday, March 21st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.64, for a total transaction of $4,644,600.00.
• On Tuesday, March 19th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.59, for a total transaction of $4,493,850.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $276.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $268.04 billion, a PE ratio of 65.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.57 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $298.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.89.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.87.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after buying an additional 10,252,257 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $401,215,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.