Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 10,573 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 428,498 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 10,573 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Oracle were worth $71,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Fourteen research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $5.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $150.77. The stock had a trading volume of 11,338,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,424,655. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $143.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.90. The company has a market capitalization of $421.70 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $114.55 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. 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.