Leuthold Group LLC Sells 2,686 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Leuthold Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,274 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 2,686 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 1.5% of Leuthold Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Leuthold Group LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $12,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Oracle by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Cadence Bank grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $167.92 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $168.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $109.66 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $469.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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