Global Assets Advisory LLC Sells 3,417 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Global Assets Advisory LLC lowered its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,715 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 3,417 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $6.84 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $157.18. 7,872,284 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,448,946. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $114.55 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's fifty day simple moving average is $142.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.87. The company has a market cap of $439.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.