Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Poplar Forest Capital LLC

Poplar Forest Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,073 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $845,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Providence First Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 612.2% during the 4th quarter. Providence First Trust Co now owns 10,840 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 9,318 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,570,294 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $261,674,000 after acquiring an additional 17,959 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,998,798,000 after purchasing an additional 97,635 shares during the last quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Finally, Maple Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,108 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $166.09 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.36 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $464.55 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $168.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.