Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Narwhal Capital Management

Narwhal Capital Management lessened its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,609 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 935 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 stake in Oracle by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after acquiring an additional 54,868 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $183.59 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $174.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.64. 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 company has a market capitalization of $513.50 billion, a PE ratio of 44.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.