Berkeley Inc Trims Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Berkeley Inc lowered its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,133 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 2,133 shares during the period. Berkeley Inc's holdings in Oracle were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 1.3%

ORCL traded up $2.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,537,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,540,302. 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 twelve month low of $114.55 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $144.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $461.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.35, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted 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). 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%. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. UBS Group restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.