Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Sierra Summit Advisors LLC

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,604 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $128.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $358.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.05 and a 200-day moving average of $169.38. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31.

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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.65.

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.