Nicollet Investment Management Inc. Sells 481 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Nicollet Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,984 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 481 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 2.2% of Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position 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 worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in Oracle by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,099 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 123.2% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 15,710 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,677,000 after buying an additional 8,670 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Thirteen research 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $140.07 on Tuesday. 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 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $391.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $163.52 and its 200-day moving average is $170.16.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.