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

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 761,528 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 1.5% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $254,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,172,167 shares of company stock valued at $402,223,235. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend 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%.

Salesforce Company 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.