Beddow Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,712 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Beddow Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,310 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,712 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 1.9% of Beddow Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Beddow Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $930,095,000. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,787,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955,764 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 12,327,164 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,012,943,000 after buying an additional 1,623,609 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $152.83 on Friday. 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 $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $164.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.85. The company has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ORCL. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens assumed coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

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.