Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,960 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 1.3% of Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Oracle by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank boosted its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $168.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $471.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $109.79 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.12. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

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.