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 company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $4,521,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,041,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,931,259,490.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• 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 shares were sold at an average price of $299.59, for a total transaction of $4,493,850.00.
• On Friday, March 15th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.12, for a total transaction of $4,441,800.00.
• On Wednesday, March 13th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.23, for a total value of $4,593,450.00.
• On Monday, March 11th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.97, for a total value of $4,574,550.00.
• On Wednesday, March 6th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.25, for a total transaction of $4,563,750.00.
• On Friday, March 1st, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00.
• On Wednesday, February 28th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.36, for a total value of $4,490,400.00.
• On Monday, February 26th, Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.46, for a total value of $4,506,900.00.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1 %

Salesforce stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $301.18. The stock had a trading volume of 4,876,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,764,980. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $294.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.10. The company has a market capitalization of $292.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.75, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.31 and a 12 month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its 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. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $293.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.32.

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.