Hartford Financial Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,812 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 2,643 shares during the quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 885,041 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,049,824,000 after acquiring an additional 310,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Oracle by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,489,345,000 after acquiring an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $168.60. 8,221,592 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,607,355. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The business's 50-day moving average price is $171.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.58. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $471.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Insider Activity at Oracle

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

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.