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) by 5.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,005 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GuoLine Advisory Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,499,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.6% in the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,528 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,472,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,686 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the period. Seed Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Seed Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,690 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 6,248 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.7 %

Salesforce stock traded up $4.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $257.10. 12,372,604 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,976,876. The company’s 50-day moving average is $260.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $249.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.43, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $912,699,429.53. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.72, for a total value of $4,525,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,011,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,925,729,005.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 541,787 shares of company stock worth $149,773,683 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

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.