Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Sells 15,000 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.03, for a total transaction of $4,110,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,812,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,510,961,967.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Friday, April 19th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total transaction of $4,064,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 17th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total value of $4,152,450.00.
• On Monday, April 15th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total value of $4,170,900.00.
• On Friday, April 12th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total value of $4,436,100.00.
• On Wednesday, April 10th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 value 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 value 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 stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $4,521,750.00.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE CRM traded up $2.82 on Tuesday, hitting $276.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,283,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,718,907. The firm has a market cap of $268.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.88, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.57 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 16.5% during the third quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,557 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,299 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 226.5% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 320 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet raised shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

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.