Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,838 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,311 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last three months. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $150.18 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $420.05 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Oracle Profile

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.