Palisade Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Palisade Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 206,628 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,839 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 2.4% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $21,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after buying an additional 7,883,515 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Oracle by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,718,180 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,982,630,000 after purchasing an additional 635,994 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,909,069 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,223,775,000 after purchasing an additional 204,546 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,471,884 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $897,342,000 after purchasing an additional 89,876 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 9,299.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,170,999 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $865,472,000 after purchasing an additional 8,084,067 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $0.47 on Wednesday, hitting $117.46. 2,644,011 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,181,578. The company has a market cap of $322.84 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.57. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $96.10 and a 52 week high of $132.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $2,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,976. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,294.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $2,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 835,000 shares of company stock valued at $105,189,850. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. HSBC upped their price target on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. William Blair raised Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.76.

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.