Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Anchor Investment Management LLC

Anchor Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,353 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 2,860 shares during the quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $6,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

ORCL stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $128.56. 8,919,409 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,309,665. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.61. 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 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.73.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.