Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,399,376 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 720,843 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.19% of Oracle worth $899,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in Oracle by 4.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in Oracle by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 28,210 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Finally, Circle Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,775 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,926,000 after purchasing an additional 10,836 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

ORCL opened at $140.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $163.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

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.