Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Cut by Great Lakes Retirement Inc.

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,651 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 177 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ORCL. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $177.18 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.51 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $495.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $170.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.97.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.