Renaissance Group LLC Sells 331 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Renaissance Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,766 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank raised its holdings in Oracle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,590,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Oracle by 27.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,424 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $9,785,000 after buying an additional 12,302 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $124.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $347.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $157.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.47. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.61%. 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 (DPR) is 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.