Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,182 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 50,474 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 0.8% of Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Oracle were worth $32,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in 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 in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $2,590,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Oracle by 27.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,424 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $9,785,000 after buying an additional 12,302 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’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 transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $124.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.47. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $347.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.