Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 262,168 shares of the CRM provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,437 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Salesforce were worth $70,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 896 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,924 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $266.56. The stock had a trading volume of 8,047,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,571,158. The firm's fifty day moving average is $267.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.22. The company has a market capitalization of $254.83 billion, a PE ratio of 43.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.77 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Northland Securities decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.