Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Decreased by Boston Partners

Boston Partners decreased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,303,760 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,040,042 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 1.3% of Boston Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Boston Partners’ holdings in Oracle were worth $1,055,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $154.01 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $165.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.95. The company has a market cap of $430.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business 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 firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ORCL. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.71.

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.