United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 336,773 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 6,047 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $56,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,787,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.27.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, 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 owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $134.33 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $154.50 and a 200 day moving average of $167.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market capitalization of $375.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.