Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Portland Global Advisors LLC

Portland Global Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,875 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in 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 purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $140.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $393.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

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.