Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,005 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,611,251.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,428,121.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 541,787 shares of company stock valued at $149,773,683 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of CRM stock traded up $4.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $257.10. 12,372,604 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,976,876. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $249.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $260.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 7.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce 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.