Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Has $2.65 Million Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,880 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,880 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew 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 worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $2,590,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Oracle by 27.3% during 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 period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $139.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $391.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $156.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.09.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

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.