Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Lowers Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lowered its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 356,762 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 9,695 shares during the quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $59,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 14,740 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,456,000 after buying an additional 2,740 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,336,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in Oracle by 50.6% during the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 82,733 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $13,787,000 after acquiring an additional 27,789 shares during the period. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $458,000. Finally, KKM Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 24,000 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,999,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of ORCL traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $162.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,495,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,438,959. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick 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 has a market capitalization of $454.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.72, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $142.26 and a 200-day moving average of $162.76.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm 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 company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last three months. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho cut their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays cut their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.