Comerica Bank Has $88.08 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Comerica Bank lowered its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 528,585 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 42,075 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Oracle were worth $88,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position 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 last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ORCL. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Stephens assumed coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, 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 sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $140.75 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $113.65 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $145.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.44. The company has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 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.