Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp cut its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 307,286 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,039 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Oracle were worth $51,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock opened at $128.17 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

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.