Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Holdings Cut by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,331 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,210,181,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 382.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,563,366 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $481,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617,413 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,938,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323,334 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 30,724.3% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 2,056,289 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $216,795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049,618 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,952,500 shares of company stock worth $277,298,174 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.83.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $1.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.01. 5,139,377 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,701,505. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $135.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.30. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $146.59. The company has a market cap of $383.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.47, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The business had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

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.