LSV Asset Management Lowers Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 798,668 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 190,422 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management's holdings in Oracle were worth $133,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 260,001 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $43,333,000 after buying an additional 37,854 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 50.6% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 37,458 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,242,000 after acquiring an additional 12,589 shares during the last quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $500,000. Spreng Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC increased its position in Oracle by 126.5% during the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 10,576 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 5,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $135.14. 2,762,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,250,835. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $377.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.39. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Westpark Capital began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.12.

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.