US Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

US Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,273 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 340 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 1.4% of US Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. US Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 1.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ORCL. DA Davidson cut their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $157.27 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $143.55 and its 200 day moving average is $162.24. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $439.88 billion, a PE ratio of 38.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.