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 the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total value of $4,436,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,928,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,539,948.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• 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 value 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 value of $4,530,450.00.
• On Friday, April 5th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $301.72, for a total value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value of $4,493,850.00.
• On Friday, March 15th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.12, for a total value of $4,441,800.00.

Salesforce Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of CRM traded down $21.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $272.75. 18,360,212 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,700,935. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.57 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.57 billion, a PE ratio of 65.38, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.77.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TheStreet raised Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.26.

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.