Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,051 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 1,509 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $93,990,000 after purchasing an additional 163,543 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $12,738,000. Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $500,000. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,299 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $0.97 on Wednesday, reaching $168.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,372,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,505,015. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.82. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $118.72 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $470.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.12, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business 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 posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.95%.

Oracle 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.