Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Athena Investment Management

Athena Investment Management cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,338 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $166.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.36. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $110.36 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $464.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Company 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.