MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Sells 326 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,968 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 326 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $930,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the 4th 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 worth $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 268.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $512,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,520 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE ORCL opened at $160.05 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $447.65 billion, a PE ratio of 39.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $143.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.36. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $114.55 and a 52 week 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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ORCL. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.