L & S Advisors Inc Trims Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

L & S Advisors Inc trimmed its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 69.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,176 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 37,633 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Oracle were worth $2,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth 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. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.65.

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Oracle Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $5.44 on Wednesday, hitting $147.38. 5,612,109 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,817,530. 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 company has a market cap of $412.22 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $162.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.02. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.