Smart Portfolios LLC Has $1.45 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Smart Portfolios LLC lowered its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,705 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 1.5% of Smart Portfolios LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Smart Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ORCL shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.92.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $144.29 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $166.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $403.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

About Oracle

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.