Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Covenant Asset Management LLC

Covenant Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,535 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 3,975 shares during the quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.2 %

ORCL opened at $173.50 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year high of $198.31. 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’s fifty day moving average is $169.69 and its 200-day moving average is $165.35. The company has a market capitalization of $485.27 billion, a PE ratio of 42.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ORCL. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

About Oracle

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.