Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by SlateStone Wealth LLC

SlateStone Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,850 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 567 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its holdings in Oracle by 298.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 243 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1,268.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 342 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 139.4% during the 4th quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 371 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $115.40. 2,788,450 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,499,173. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $93.29 and a 1 year high of $132.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $119.21 and a 200-day moving average of $113.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Argus upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.