Global Retirement Partners LLC Lowers Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Global Retirement Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,937 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 461 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% during 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 raised its holdings in Oracle by 2.6% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,049,824,000 after acquiring an additional 310,709 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,489,345,000 after acquiring an additional 54,868 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $179.78 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $502.85 billion, a PE ratio of 43.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Oracle

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.