Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 368,957 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,601,205 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 368,957 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.06% of Oracle worth $266,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its holdings in Oracle by 383.4% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $27,428,000 after buying an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL traded up $4.33 on Tuesday, hitting $161.55. 6,448,976 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,168,905. The business's fifty day moving average is $142.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.76. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $114.55 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $451.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.50, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. 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 (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Corporate 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.