Alerus Financial NA Has $3.78 Million Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Alerus Financial NA trimmed its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,689 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the period. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vertex Planning Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $531,000. Riverchase Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,943,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 180,117 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $30,015,000 after acquiring an additional 18,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Oracle by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,039,084 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $173,153,000 after purchasing an additional 212,850 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Down 1.3 %

ORCL stock opened at $145.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $408.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $164.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.11. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Oracle Profile

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.