Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $159.66 Million Stake in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 855,312 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,511 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.9% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned approximately 0.10% of Salesforce worth $159,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating and a $240 price target on Salesforce, citing AI momentum and growth tied to Agentforce, which reinforces the bullish long-term case for the stock. TD Cowen Reaffirms Buy Rating on Salesforce (CRM) as AI Momentum and Agentforce Drive Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Salesforce’s Agentforce and broader AI strategy suggests the company is still seen as a serious player in enterprise AI, which may help offset fears that legacy software growth is slowing. Salesforce Agentforce: A Comprehensive Enterprise Cheat Sheet and Review
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces argue Salesforce has been overly sold off and may be undervalued after its post-earnings decline, but these are more valuation arguments than fresh catalysts. Salesforce: Taking Advantage Of The Market’s Misunderstanding Of Enterprise Software
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s acquisition of m3ter to expand dynamic pricing tools adds to its AI CRM platform, but the immediate stock impact looks limited so far. Salesforce expands AI CRM with acquisition of m3ter for dynamic pricing
• Negative Sentiment: One article notes Salesforce is still down sharply since its last earnings report, reminding investors that sentiment remains fragile despite the recent rebound. Salesforce (CRM) Down 14.8% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Negative Sentiment: Another report says Salesforce is trying to defend its AI position with new tools for RIAs, but experts are raising concerns about cost, implementation, and benefits, which could limit enthusiasm. Salesforce tries to catch up on AI — and halt precipitous stock slide — with launch of ‘Agentic Advisor’ for RIAs

Salesforce Trading Up 5.4%

CRM opened at $158.23 on Friday. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.32 and a twelve month high of $276.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.16.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $200.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Salesforce from an “overweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.61.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.