Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,399,376 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 720,843 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $899,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,998,798,000 after buying an additional 97,635 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $140.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.22. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.