Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Interchange Capital Partners LLC

Interchange Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,848 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 in the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in Oracle by 4.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 4,517 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 20,026 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $152.83 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend 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.