Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Holdings Decreased by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 22.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,202 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,777 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its position in Oracle by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 805 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Oracle by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,090 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,049 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its position in Oracle by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 3,206 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $178.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $500.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.76, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $170.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’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 owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ORCL. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

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.