Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 323 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,915 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 323 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $13,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,049,824,000 after purchasing an additional 310,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after purchasing an additional 54,868 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $166.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.93 and a 200 day moving average of $168.36. 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 company has a market cap of $464.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $110.36 and a 1 year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

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.