Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by AXS Investments LLC

AXS Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,644 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 7,299 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.2% of AXS Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its holdings in Oracle by 298.4% during the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 243 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in Oracle in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $124.09. 6,017,418 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,986,000. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.83. The company has a market capitalization of $341.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $97.29 and a 1 year high of $132.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $5,298,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,299,071.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 880,000 shares of company stock valued at $110,488,150 in the last quarter. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Argus raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. HSBC boosted their price objective on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.76.

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.