Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,696,900 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 216,400 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up 0.5% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.17% of Oracle worth $782,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.85.

Oracle Stock Up 4.8 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $151.17 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $422.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.51 and a 200-day moving average of $169.49.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle 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.