Asset Dedication LLC Sells 8,110 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Asset Dedication LLC lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,906 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 8,110 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 16,023.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $351,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052,275 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after acquiring an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Oracle by 2,899.0% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 913,700 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $155,694,000 after acquiring an additional 883,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ORCL. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Up 3.7 %

ORCL stock opened at $164.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $106.51 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $173.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.