Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) is Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s 4th Largest Position

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,416,780 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 77,819 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 4.0% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned about 0.12% of Oracle worth $569,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $140.75 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.12. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its 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 return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

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.