Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,025 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 317 shares during the quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during 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 in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 3.2 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $179.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $169.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $106.51 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $502.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 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 the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.