Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,695 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 875 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 3.3% of Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 16,514 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 4,993 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Oracle by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,570,021 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $594,908,000 after purchasing an additional 983,955 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,589,264 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $430,646,000 after buying an additional 227,212 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of Oracle by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 1,253,272 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $208,845,000 after buying an additional 32,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 4,475 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $147.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $413.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.28. 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 announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.