Vestcor Inc Sells 2,618 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 100,932 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,618 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $16,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Oracle by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $395,295,000 after purchasing an additional 53,128 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in Oracle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,767 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 4.8 %

Oracle stock opened at $151.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $422.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $166.51 and a 200-day moving average of $169.49.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.85.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value 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 $207,565,931.52. The trade was 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 the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.