Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 535,729 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 14,570 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $74,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.5% in the first quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 181,122 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,323,000 after purchasing an additional 7,832 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 17,006 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,378,000 after buying an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Finally, Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $800,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL traded up $2.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $165.03. The stock had a trading volume of 17,537,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,540,302. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $114.55 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $461.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.43. 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 (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's 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.