Capital Investment Counsel Inc Sells 3,434 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc reduced its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,289 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 3,434 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 0.9% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Capital Investment Counsel Inc's holdings in Oracle were worth $5,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 121,874 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its position in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $27,428,000 after buying an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL traded down $8.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.92. The stock had a trading volume of 9,693,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,127,484. The company's fifty day moving average is $169.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $109.66 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $469.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ORCL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $214.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.