Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Naples Global Advisors LLC

Naples Global Advisors LLC reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 51,743 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 507 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 0.8% of Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 16,023.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $351,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052,275 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 11.6% in 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 buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised 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 buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 279.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,210,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $201,759,000 after acquiring an additional 891,842 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after acquiring an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $172.30 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $481.92 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $106.51 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

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.