Zacks Investment Management Sells 38,724 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Zacks Investment Management cut its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 590,808 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 38,724 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 0.9% of Zacks Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Oracle were worth $98,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,590,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,499,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.56. 8,919,409 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,324,546. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The business's fifty day moving average price is $150.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.73.

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.