Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lowered its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 43.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 721,013 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 560,500 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in Oracle were worth $120,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 12.4% in the third 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 position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,590,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth $1,531,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ORCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $5.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $150.77. 11,338,726 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,424,649. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.62 and a 200-day moving average of $163.90. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Oracle Company 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.