Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Seneca House Advisors

Seneca House Advisors decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 615 shares during the period. Seneca House Advisors’ holdings in Oracle were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 1.8%

ORCL opened at $174.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $487.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Company 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.