MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 486,692 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 10,965 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 0.5% of MetLife Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $82,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $440,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter worth about $322,000. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $227,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $584,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $190.00 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $196.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.50 billion, a PE ratio of 49.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.