Tower Bridge Advisors Reduces Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Tower Bridge Advisors reduced its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 190,229 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,047 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 3.4% of Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Oracle were worth $31,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth 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 period. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ORCL shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $166.09 on Friday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $110.36 and a one year high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $464.55 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.36.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Oracle 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.