Navalign LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Navalign LLC reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,321 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the period. Navalign LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $930,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,303,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 268.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $512,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $157.28 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $439.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $114.55 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.