Washington Trust Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Washington Trust Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,490 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,726 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $152.83 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $164.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.85. The stock has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Oracle Company 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.