Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stake Decreased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,697 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $18,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew 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 buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.71.

Insider Activity

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 shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $154.01 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $165.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $430.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Oracle 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.