Sigma Planning Corp Decreases Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Sigma Planning Corp lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,835 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,516 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. State Street Corp increased its stake in Oracle by 2.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 2.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 11.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,049,824,000 after purchasing an additional 310,709 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Oracle by 0.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after purchasing an additional 54,868 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 4.6 %

Oracle stock opened at $167.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $168.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $109.66 and a one year high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $469.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. 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 business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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.