Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Position Decreased by Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,692 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.3% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after acquiring an additional 7,883,515 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,718,180 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,982,630,000 after acquiring an additional 635,994 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,938,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,323,334 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,342 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after acquiring an additional 697,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.4 %

Oracle stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $124.09. The company had a trading volume of 6,018,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,009,451. The firm has a market capitalization of $341.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.37 and its 200-day moving average is $114.89. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $97.29 and a fifty-two week high of $132.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. William Blair raised shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.76.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 880,000 shares of company stock worth $110,488,150 in the last 90 days. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.