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

Focused Investors LLC cut its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,075,000 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 9,300 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 5.7% of Focused Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $179,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $6,875,000. Fortis Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $667,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,772,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 31,425 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $1,064,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Up 0.1 %

ORCL stock opened at $152.83 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.87 and a 200-day moving average of $170.06. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. 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 earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.