Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 761,528 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 1.5% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.08% of Salesforce worth $254,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after purchasing an additional 877,495 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $326.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $312.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $336.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.47.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,172,167 shares of company stock valued at $402,223,235. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.