Marc Benioff Sells 317,105 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $343.65 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $328.87 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $323.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.86.

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.