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

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,627 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. OMC Financial Services LTD increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,219.12. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.1%

CRM stock traded up $2.94 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $264.56. The company had a trading volume of 7,688,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,684,448. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.77 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $254.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.51, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $266.92 and a 200 day moving average of $303.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

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.