Contour Asset Management LLC Sells 644,021 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Contour Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 54.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 532,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 644,021 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 2.6% of Contour Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Contour Asset Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $88,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after acquiring an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after acquiring an additional 619,619 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $148.03 on Wednesday. The business 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 quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $114.55 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $414.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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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