Axa S.A. Sells 183,473 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

AXA S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 367,077 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 183,473 shares during the period. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $61,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $5.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $150.77. 11,338,726 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,444,493. The stock has a market cap of $421.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $114.55 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The firm's fifty day moving average is $143.62 and its 200-day moving average is $163.74. 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 (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 return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 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.