Phoenix Financial Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 583,573 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 20,431 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 1.3% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $97,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake 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. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during 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 buying an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,590,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Oracle by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,424 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $9,785,000 after purchasing an additional 12,302 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens began coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Oracle Trading Up 12.4 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $139.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.09. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. 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.

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 return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend 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.