Garde Capital Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Garde Capital Inc. cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,315 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 372 shares during the quarter. Garde Capital Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Down 1.8 %

ORCL opened at $175.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $490.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $180.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.36.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.63.

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.