Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,934,769 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 128,544 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $204,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,077 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,569 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 50.3% in the 3rd quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 8,953 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 92.9% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 623 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Up 2.0 %

ORCL stock traded up $2.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $117.21. 8,355,111 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,810,524. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $93.29 and a 12-month high of $132.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $119.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.76.

Oracle Company 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.