Global Assets Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Global Assets Advisory LLC cut its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,715 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 3,417 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $150.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $142.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.02. 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 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $420.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Bank of America decreased their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

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.