Avity Investment Management Inc. Has $3.48 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Avity Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,886 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 7,415 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $664,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE ORCL traded up $3.08 on Friday, reaching $174.22. The company had a trading volume of 6,828,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,518,460. The stock's 50 day moving average is $147.20 and its 200-day moving average is $160.67. The stock has a market cap of $487.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. 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 $118.86 and a 52 week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. 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 is currently 46.95%.

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.