Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,345,230 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 38,168 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $224,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its stake in Oracle by 37.9% in the third quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 4,517 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 20,026 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Oracle Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $152.83 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $164.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.27. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.