DSM Capital Partners LLC Sells 9,222 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

DSM Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 58,655 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 9,222 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 0.2% of DSM Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. DSM Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $179.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $502.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.51 and a 12-month high of $198.31. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $169.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.57.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

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.