Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Scharf Investments LLC

Scharf Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 912,917 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 68,448 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 4.5% of Scharf Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $152,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,049,824,000 after buying an additional 310,709 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,489,345,000 after buying an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $169.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $172.34 and a 200-day moving average of $163.08. The company has a market capitalization of $475.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.