Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Position Lowered by Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,046 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 11,556 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 1.6% of Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $18,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,049,824,000 after buying an additional 310,709 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after buying an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $173.50 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $485.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. 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.