Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Optas LLC

Optas LLC cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,333 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $93,990,000 after purchasing an additional 163,543 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,738,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $242,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 279.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,210,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $201,759,000 after acquiring an additional 891,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $5,850,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 0.9 %

ORCL opened at $168.60 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $171.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.58. The firm has a market cap of $471.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $106.51 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.