Clearbridge Investments LLC Trims Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,399,376 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 720,843 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.19% of Oracle worth $899,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,998,798,000 after purchasing an additional 97,635 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.65.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $4.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.13. 6,966,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,003,852. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $408.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $162.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.