Natixis Investment Managers International Cuts Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Natixis Investment Managers International lessened its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 865 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Natixis Investment Managers International’s holdings in Oracle were worth $109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after buying an additional 1,514,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,938,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,323,334 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after purchasing an additional 697,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,909,069 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,223,775,000 after buying an additional 204,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,952,500 shares of company stock valued at $277,298,174. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $137.88. The company had a trading volume of 7,653,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,520,287. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $146.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $134.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.92.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ORCL. UBS Group increased their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.83.

About Oracle

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.