Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 291,288 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 7,020 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 1.2% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $30,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 298.4% during the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 243 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1,268.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 342 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 139.4% during the 4th quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 371 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Oracle news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,071,294.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 42.80% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $115.80. 4,484,976 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,128,065. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $94.41 and a 1-year high of $132.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $119.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.38.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The business had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ORCL. William Blair upgraded Oracle from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.76.

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.

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