Fiduciary Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Fiduciary Group LLC reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,008 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 176 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $7,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $930,095,000. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,787,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,764 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Oracle by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 12,327,164 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,012,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623,609 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $152.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market cap of $426.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.89.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 1.31%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

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.