Ossiam Trims Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ossiam trimmed its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 70.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,014 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 141,601 shares during the quarter. Ossiam’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.73.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $128.56 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.34. 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 firm has a market cap of $359.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.