Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Holdings Lowered by Gemmer Asset Management LLC

Gemmer Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,635 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after acquiring an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after acquiring an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% 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 over the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8%

ORCL opened at $174.22 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $487.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.67.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.