Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY

Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY lessened its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,408 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Oracle were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in Oracle by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 23,585 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 8,421 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $2,016,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in Oracle by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 20,516 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,132,000. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 180,474 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $19,027,000 after acquiring an additional 6,549 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of ORCL traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $121.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,196,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,740,461. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The firm has a market cap of $332.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $119.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.48. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $93.29 and a 1-year high of $132.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Oracle in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. William Blair upgraded Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Argus raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.76.

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.