Islay Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Islay Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 57.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $50,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its stake in Oracle by 4.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth $2,590,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Oracle by 2,273.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,899 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 6.6 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

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.