ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd Cuts Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lessened its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 43.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 517,993 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 396,159 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises 3.0% of ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd’s holdings in Oracle were worth $86,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 4.8 %

ORCL stock opened at $151.17 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.49. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $422.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.