Wesleyan Assurance Society Lowers Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Wesleyan Assurance Society reduced its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,569 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 1.8% of Wesleyan Assurance Society's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Oracle were worth $22,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $27,428,000 after buying an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $1,800,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 40.8% during the fourth 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. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 43,851 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 4,259 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research 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 data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $156.04. 6,526,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,500,471. The firm has a market capitalization of $436.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $143.68 and a 200 day moving average of $162.13. 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 1-year low of $114.55 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.