Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 750 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Carret Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,195 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 1.6% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $13,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after buying an additional 7,883,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Oracle by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,938,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323,334 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,300,941,000 after acquiring an additional 697,961 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,909,069 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,223,775,000 after acquiring an additional 204,546 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 385,639 shares of company stock worth $53,002,729. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $133.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.83.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $144.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,306,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,633,039. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $145.32. The company has a market cap of $397.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $126.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

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.