Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Cannell & Spears LLC

Cannell & Spears LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 438,629 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 64,824 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 1.5% of Cannell & Spears LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $73,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $139,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 128.3% in the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 36,525 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,087,000 after buying an additional 20,527 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 105,058 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $17,507,000 after buying an additional 8,830 shares in the last quarter. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $2,385,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Oracle by 121.7% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 23,156 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after buying an additional 12,709 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Thirteen research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

ORCL stock opened at $140.75 on Monday. 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 market cap of $393.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s 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.