Continuum Advisory LLC Sells 153 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Continuum Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,491 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $930,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 268.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $512,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,520 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $160.05 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $143.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.36. The company has a market capitalization of $447.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Westpark Capital began coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.