Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors Decreases Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lowered its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,483 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Oracle were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,258,000 after buying an additional 3,299 shares during the last quarter. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. now owns 6,739 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 7,811 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $174.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $487.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.60, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.67.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 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.