Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Trims Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI cut its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 977,484 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 146,785 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 1.3% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Oracle were worth $162,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $159.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market capitalization of $446.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $143.08 and its 200 day moving average is $162.38. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $114.55 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

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.