Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,940 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $15,599,200,000 after acquiring an additional 7,883,515 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,718,180 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,982,630,000 after acquiring an additional 635,994 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,704,523 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,211,307,000 after acquiring an additional 61,604 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,471,884 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $897,342,000 after acquiring an additional 89,876 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Oracle by 9,299.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,170,999 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $865,472,000 after acquiring an additional 8,084,067 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 835,000 shares of company stock valued at $105,189,850. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair upgraded Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC lifted their target price on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. KeyCorp started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.76.

Oracle Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $118.34 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $96.10 and a 52 week high of $132.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The company has a market capitalization of $325.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $120.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.46.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

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.