DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Sells 1,648,002 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,153,748 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,648,002 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in Oracle were worth $692,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. EHP Funds Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $467,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 96,791 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $16,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Oracle by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 50,298 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $8,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 17,290 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,881,000 after buying an additional 5,046 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 1.1 %

Oracle stock opened at $149.29 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market capitalization of $417.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $142.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.36. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $114.55 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s 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.