Bell Asset Management Ltd Sells 10,200 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Bell Asset Management Ltd reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,024 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 10,200 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 6.6 %

ORCL opened at $128.17 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.38. The firm 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.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.