Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 1,261 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,346 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,261 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 0.5% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $16,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Down 1.0 %

ORCL opened at $177.18 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $170.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $106.51 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $495.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.