Islay Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Islay Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 57.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $160.05 and a 200 day moving average of $169.33. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week 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 return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

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.