Swiss National Bank Sells 216,400 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,696,900 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 216,400 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 0.5% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Oracle were worth $782,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $151.17 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.51 and its 200-day moving average is $169.49. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $422.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change 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 currently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.85.

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.