Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Reduces Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 427,280 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 61,854 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Oracle were worth $71,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Oracle by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Cadence Bank raised its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $151.17 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $422.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.96, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by 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.