Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Sells 6,956 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,386 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 6,956 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.2% of Cardinal Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $35,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in Oracle by 383.4% in 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 during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 79.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $48,813,000 after buying an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 84.5% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 863,883 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $147,206,000 after acquiring an additional 395,613 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $1.86 on Thursday, hitting $186.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,288,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,592,791. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average is $174.43 and its 200-day moving average is $162.05. The company has a market capitalization of $520.44 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ORCL. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $214.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $182.73.

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.