Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. decreased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,237 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,729 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $7,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $162.92 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $144.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market capitalization of $455.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $114.55 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

About Oracle

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.