Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,226 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 31,052 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $37,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $148.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Fourteen equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.

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