Fermata Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Fermata Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,558 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 376 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Warther Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Howard Bailey Securities LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Cape ANN Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank now owns 5,820 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ORCL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the business’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 value 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. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% 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 worth $4,015,723 over the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 0.6%

Oracle stock opened at $168.17 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $470.36 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

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.