Nuveen Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Nuveen Asset 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 8,252,953 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 329,416 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,375,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 268.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $512,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $162.29 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $453.92 billion, a PE ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $114.55 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $142.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.76.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.