Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 319,992 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 11,063 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 3.7% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $53,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 352,174 shares of company stock valued at $64,990,957 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 3.6 %

ORCL stock opened at $127.20 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.93 and a 200 day moving average of $165.72. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $355.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.73.

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.