Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Poplar Forest Capital LLC

Poplar Forest Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,073 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth 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 period. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $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 valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Guggenheim raised their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $166.09 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $110.36 and a twelve 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $464.55 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Oracle’s payout ratio 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.