Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors reduced its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,483 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Oracle were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after acquiring an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after acquiring an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE ORCL opened at $174.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.67. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $487.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.60, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

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.