Marshall Wace LLP Sells 2,030,115 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 98.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 2,030,115 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Oracle were worth $5,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $131.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $367.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $148.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.49. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 352,174 shares of company stock valued at $64,990,957 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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