Cohen Capital Management Inc. Sells 250 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Cohen Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,833 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 2.2% of Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $13,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $482,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $70,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,066,000. Capital City Trust Co. FL boosted its holdings in Oracle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 39,948 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $1,800,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $167.92 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.29. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $109.66 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $469.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.