Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 376 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,202 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 376 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vertex Planning Partners LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $531,000. Riverchase Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,943,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 180,117 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $30,015,000 after purchasing an additional 18,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Oracle by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,039,084 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $173,153,000 after purchasing an additional 212,850 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $140.75 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $163.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.12.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

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.