Wick Capital Partners LLC Trims Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Wick Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 89.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 510 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 4,176 shares during the quarter. Wick Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $85,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 12.4% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $2,590,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $1,531,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL traded up $4.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $145.50. The stock had a trading volume of 11,516,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,399,270. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $406.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $114.26 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $143.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % 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 Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus 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.